Reaching For The Stars
by MoonDrop162
Summary: Growing up without a father had been hard for Adelaide, but she was nothing if not a survivor. When Pike convinces her into joining Starfleet, she quickly works her way up the ranks with one goal in mind: Captain of the Enterprise. Will she learn what it really means to be a Captain in time to save the crew from a futuristic enemy? M for lang. and mature chapters later. Gradual K/S
1. Prologue

**So... another plot bunny thing running around in my head. Don't worry about _Second Chance_. I have that follow up chapter almost done and ready to type up, and expect it soon. But for now.. the beginning of something new. This will be a long one as I am taking on the basics of the whole first Star Trek Movie.**

**Had no time to proofread this, so please excuse any glaring mistakes, of which I am sure there are many.**

**Thank you for starting out on a new journey with me. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will.**

**Kisses,**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative**_** satisfaction.**

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Captain Robau prided himself on leading a rather quiet and honorable service during his time in Starfleet. That wasn't synonymous with _boring_, it just meant nothing much by the way of eventful happened to him in outer space. He liked it that way. Nor surprises, no hiccups, no unfortunate events that explain to the higher ups, and nothing threatening the lives of his crew. At most the _U.S.S. Kelvin_ had suffered a misaligned warp core, setting back their current excursion by another day. Once they'd been in the air, however, it was different. Well… until today.

Robau walked briskly down the hall with one of his communications supper officer named Pitts. The man's bright red shirt contrasted to Robau's sharp yellow. Their boots clicked professionally on the waxed floor, belying their sense of urgency.

"Our sensors haven't made sense of the anomaly?" Robau's commanding voice stayed in control, calm, even as the concern was plain on his striking Indian features.

"No, sir," Pitts answered. "It looked like a lightning storm in the middle of space." Robau considered this information for a moment.

"How far are we from the Klingon Neutral Zone?" Pitts bit his lip as they rounded a corner, the door to the bridge at the end of the hall.

"150,000 kilometers, but the vessel is not Klingon, sir. Its registry doesn't match any recorded profile" The door to the bridge opened with a gentle swish, the chaos it had been containing erupting in a swell of noise and a flurry of activity. Robau stepped inside, striding over to the Captain's chair, and Pitts returned to his console by the Captain's feet. Robau examined the picture of the anomaly on the viewscreen. Green clouds crackled with lightning, orbiting a hole darker than everything around it. Impressive considering they were in outer space. According to Pitts, the ship now also looming ominously had appeared from within the storm.

The sheer size of it was mind boggling, easily six times the size of the _Kelvin_. It had spires and edges that reminded the Captain of a snarling animal backed into a corner, dangerous, and willing to try anything. It glistened in the light of a nearby star, shimmering with different colors, like oil on water, but for all that it shone, it looked like someone had carved the whole thing from one giant piece of rock. So much excitement for Robau was… disconcerting.

"Report." Robau turned his chair to his First Officer, George Kirk, a man in a blue shirt signifying his place as a man of science. Kirk was young and promising in his command, with a warm face that was easy to smile, and unnaturally blue eyes that saw everything. Robau liked him. He'd earned the respect of the whole crew easily, carrying out the Captain's orders with honesty and determination. He had a tendency to act before thinking, though, and was maybe the most stubborn out of Robau's whole crew.

"Sir, new contact bearing zero-three-four." Robau frowned.

"Are they transmitting on any frequency?" Kirk shook his head, glancing out the window before giving his attention back to the Captain.

"Negative, Captain. All communications appear to be shut down." Robau swiveled his chair back out towards open space and the possible threat on his ship and crew.

"Hail the ship. What's the closest match on registry?" Kirk hesitated.

"Nothing even close, sir."

Robau turned to his right, facing officer Pitts once more. He did _not _like how this was playing out. There was a voice in his head screaming at him to run, that they were in danger. Something about this just wasn't right.

"Any response?" Pitts shook his head, desperately flipping switches and pressing buttons.

"No, sir," he sounded nervous. "Hails met with silence."

"Maybe they're incapable…" Robau hedged. Her needed to consider all possibilities, friendly, and otherwise, though he hoped the latter would just be proven to be paranoia. "Any identifiable damage?"

"Negative, sir, but our readings seem confused." Robau quirked an eyebrow.

"Confused?" Pitts bit his lip, looking over his screen and flicking his eyes to both the Captain and First Officer and the imposing ship on screen.

"Not only is the ship unregistered, but even its construction materials seem… unrecognizable." A hush fell over the bridge as they all took in this new information. Numerous faces turned to Robau with fear, looking for answers. Looking for leadership. It was enough to drive anyone insane, and was exactly the reason he'd wanted nothing more than a quiet, uneventful service.

'_Oh my God…'_ he thought, _'A lightning storm… and then this…'_ he shook the thoughts forcibly from his mind, leveling his face. No one had the strength for this, so as the Captain, he had to be the strength for all of them. He cleared his throat before his voice rang out strong and true over the desk. Only Kirk's sad eyes glowed with the knowledge that their Captain was just as afraid as they were.

"Signal all departments: first contact protocols. Looks like we have someone new on the block. All stop!" Like a flipped switch, the bridge was once again a buzz of activity, though the tension wasn't as high. Crew members became glues to their consoles, muttering softly to department chiefs throughout the ship and setting up the protocols for first contact. Kirk stood up from his post, and walked over to stand by Robau's left elbow.

"Sir, should we initiate an invasive scan?" before Robau could answer, Pitts pipe up urgently.

"Sir, I have a reading! They've locked weapons on to us!" Robau's eyes widened.

"Red alert! Arm weapons! Shields!" Kirk dashed back over to his console, his hands flying across the colorful buttons. The lights on the bridge flashed red as a warning siren blared angrily over the speakers. Robau watched in horror as the gigantic claw of a ship fired a torpedo that broke into smaller, more mobile torpedoes right before contact with the _Kelvin_. The crew thrashed around the rooms and the ship shook ominously. Robau leapt forward to help a navigational support man back to his seat, frowning at the small trickle of blood running down his face from where it had slammed against his station.

"Damage report!" he barked through his communicator. It took a moment before the Chief Engineer answered. He sounded terrified.

"Our shields did nothing, sir! Never seen anything like it! Weapons off-line! Main power 38 percent!" Robau swore internally in several languages. No way they lived through another assault like that.

Kirk drug himself off the floor, mashing the button for an inter-ship call, the first real look of fear on his face. Robau remembered with a measure of compassionate sadness that his First Officer's pregnant wife was on board the _Kelvin_. The captain had more to worry about at the moment, though, and he turned away from the fervent, hushed conversation between Kirk and his wife, Winona. His eyes roamed over the groaning, but alive, members of his bridge, and he let loose a sigh of relief. No one was dead.

"They're firing another, Captain!" Somewhere behind him, Robau heard a woman scream. He whirled around and his face dropped in dismay. Without a second thought, he jumped up, shouted order for evasive maneuvers and took off running towards the woman. Kirk saw what he was doing, having ended his call, and a great yell of the Captain's name ripped from his chest right as a metal beam fell from the ceiling and pierced Robau right as he shielded the junior science officer from sudden death. George looked on in shock as the Captain gave a great cough of blood all over the still-screaming woman, then unceremoniously died.

"Life support failing on decks seven through thirteen! We have confirmed casualties, sir!"

"This is the _U.S.S. Kelvin_, attempting to reach Starfleet command on subspace! Report – _U.S.S. Kelvin_ is under attack by unknown aggressor!

"Shield at eight percent and dropping!"

"Were our shields even up?! That was unlike anything I've ever seen!" Kirk gulped, tearing his eyes away from their fallen captain. With shaking hands, he stepped up to the Captain's chair and fell back in to the soft leather, white noise pouring through his head. Winona and the baby had been alive. That was what he had to hold on to.

"All remaining power to forward shields," he commanded awkwardly. His hands were shaking. "Prepare the shuttles for –"

Kirk stopped as a face, heavy with tattoos and an expression of gut-wrenching pain blipped on to their viewscreen. This man's eyes smoldered with hatred and anguish, and what looked to be tear tracks shone on his face. His cheeks were flushed a green color in his anger, as well as the tips of his pointed ears. George narrowed his eyes. Romulans. When the hell did _Romulans_ get this kind of fire power?

"I would speak to the Captain of this ship," he growled. His voice sounded like he was talking around a cotton ball, chewing on every letter before spitting in George's face. Kirk's eyes involuntarily looked over to Robau's body (the science officer had fainted) before glaring up at the humanoid.

"I am George Joseph kirk, Captain of the _U.S. _. By what right do you have to attack a Federation ship?" An image of a strange white ship, only big enough for one, curved, elegant, and alien flashed in the bottom right corner.

"Are you familiar with this craft?" Kirk's face hardened at being ignored. He clenched his fists, internally schooling himself to not be brash, lest it cost him more lives of their already dwindling crew.

"I asked you what right do you have to attack a ship from the Federation Starfleet?" The Romulan's face darkened dangerously, and his voice dipped low, and menacing.

"That was hardly an attack. My commander will easily destroy your ship if you do not respond to the question."

"Where is your commander, then? Let him speak for himself, and answer for the lives he's taken!" Kirk challenged, trying to stall for time enough to formulate an escape plan. Warp was out of the question. They couldn't do a frontal attack. Unless…

"Answer. The. Question." Snarled the Romulan. Kirk tensed and considered the strange ship seriously. His heart broke when he heard the sniffled of his coworkers giving up all pretenses of bravery, and at how powerless he felt to save them.

_Winona…_

"I've never seen it. Or any ship like it." The Romulan's wild eyes tightened.

"Are you familiar with – or better – know the location of Ambassador Spock?" The spaceship in the corner was replaced by a very obviously Vulcan face. The skin was wrinkled and sagged with age, and the classic Vulcan bowl cut was gray and thinned out, but the deep brown eyes sparkled with inhuman intelligence. He was, regretfully for Kirk, unfamiliar.

"No. I am not familiar with Ambassador Spock, nor do I know his whereabouts." With a pang of dread, Kirk hope he hadn't doomed them all to death. An annoying voice in the back of his mind whispered that it didn't matter what his answers were, they were going to die anyway. It looked like General Order 13 was soon becoming the only choice they had for retaliation.

"A final question. What is the current stardate?" Kirk blinked over at Pitts, who seemed just as confused as George felt. Who the hell wouldn't know the stardate?

"Uh… it's 2233.04…" With a grunt, the Romulan disappeared, but before Kirk could even begin contemplating that strange encounter, the chaos quickly resumed.

"Captain!" Pitts shrieked. "They're firing again!" Kirk clenched his muscles in panic. If they sustained another wave, Winona would die. Their baby. Their unborn baby. God, why did she have to go in to labor, _now_? Why did she have to be on the ship? Kirk wiped his sweaty palms on his blue shirt.

"Evasive! Evasive! Delta-Five maneuver! Fire full spread!" George watched in trepidation as their dying ship banked, avoiding most of the blast. A support beam crashed to the floor behind Kirk on his right. Green coolant spewed up between the gratings below his feet. With solemn resolution, Kirk gave up the fight as a lost cause.

"I'm initiating general Order 13. Set for maximum matter-antimatter yield. Two minute countdown!" Pitts' fingers flew like wind over his console, inputting the order to the ship's computer.

"Yessir!"

"I want autopilot targeted for their fuel cells!"

"Sir, unable to locate the ship's power source!" Kirk could just scream.

"Then just target the damn thing dead center!" Helmsman Permian turned around, his right hand bleeding, and his voice filled with foreboding.

"We've got bigger problems: the first his destroyed the autopilot." A silence pregnant with sorrow encase George, giving him a sense of calm the strength to do what was needed. He was the Captain now. It was his responsibility to see to the safety of his crew, and to neutralize the threat. That left only one option left. He only regretted that he wouldn't get to meet his second child.

"Then I'll do it myself. Everybody evacuate to the shuttles." Nobody moved, gaping at him in wonderment and regret. "That's an _order_, now _move!_"

The crew jumped at the bark in his voice before snapping to and running out the door. Officer Pitts stopped in front of Kirk, openly sobbing and choking on the words in this throat before shaking his head and leaving with the rest of the bridge. Kirk sighed and looked over at Robau's corpse. Someone had had the sense to grab the junior officer on the way out, at least.

"Just you and me, old friend…" he whispered. Heaving a quiet groan, he leapt to his feet and danced around all the consoles, piloting the _Kelvin_ while firing at the Romulan ship and stray torpedoes aimed for the escape pods. His child could be in any one of those, and he couldn't afford to let a single one of them perish.

"Computer," he shouted, "hail medical shuttle 37… I need to speak to my wife."

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**Welp. There we have it. Such was the end of George Kirk, Sr., and the beginning of our very dear Adelaide Kirk.**

**Thoughts? Lemme know with a wonderful review.**

**Peace!**


	2. Owner of the Lonely Heart

**So, in the process of writing this stuff out first, it got the chapters to be a lot longer than if I just sat down and typed it all. I like this. This is good. I am going to stick with this.**

**So here you have it. Again, no time to proofread, so expect mistakes that I'll try to remember to fix later.**

**Please leave me a review and tell me what you think. Is this a good beginning? Strong? Weak? What do you think of Addy's character so far? Lemme know!  
**

**Kisses,**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

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Adelaide grew up strong. She had to, living in the shadow of someone as great and revered as her father. Don't misunderstand, she loved that man for what he did for her mother and those people on board the _U.S.S. Kelvin_. Such a man, honest and selfless, was the kind of person she _wanted_ to be. But how could she even compare to a mere memory? So she didn't bother. She used her brains and wherewithal for mischief, constantly changing the grades of her classmates, messing up business accou8nts around town, leaving anonymous embarrassing messages about her peers that she'd found rooting through the mail of those she didn't like. She was capable, she was more than willing, and if they really wanted the privacy, they would have built firewalls around their lives like the ones Addy had made years ago.

But for all her fun and mischief, it only served to ostracize her. Her peers scorned her for her talents, and the teachers were downright frightened of her. No one liked her anymore. Fine. Things were easier by herself, anyway.

Addy grew up smart. So smart. _Too_ smart. Her family knew when she was a toddler, reading up on science and math before she could speak. Her brain was sharp. A weapon. A warning sign. A locked door. It kept others out, too intimidate by the idea of her putting their intelligence to shame, and it kept herself in, afraid of the hurtful names and jealous looks that trailed behind her in the halls of her school. She honed it, exercised it like any muscle until she was calculating her brother's math equations (three years ahead of what she was "learning" right now) in her head faster than his calculator. As best she could, however, Addy kept the full scope of it hidden. She let people draw their own conclusions about the limits of her mind and where the line finally drew so she could enjoy the look of surprise when she opened her mouth and spoke. People knew she was smart, but only her family knew exactly _how_ smart. It gave her a perverse sense of vindictive satisfaction when others underestimated her and she proved them wrong. Then they learned her name, and it was nothing but gold from there.

Addy grew up unhappy. Her childhood wasn't itself hard, but there were parts she would have really like to fucking change. Her early years were nice enough; her mother was kind and loving, a constant source of warmth and comfort. Her brother, not so much. He wasn't mean, which Addy considered herself lucky for, because he certainly could have easily been. He was just like everyone else in her life. Scared by her mind and what it could mean for his own if he got too close. Growing up with no one taught her the value of true friendship, and how precious it could be, and it made her viciously loyal to anyone that showed her kindness. She never hesitated to go to blows to defend someone she liked.

But, seeing as this was a rare occurrence, it meant that Addy also grew up rather lonely. She knew better than most the terror that waited in the dark to grip her heart with her most secret fears. That no one loved her. No one needed her. No one wanted her. No one would miss her if she died. Her life would have meant nothing. She knew that emptiness that eats a person from the inside out, leaving behind insecurity and despair. Books were her real teachers, but not her friends, and no amount of lying to herself could convince her otherwise. She tried to decide that she didn't care if people liked her or not, because she was destined for something _great_ in her life, and then they would all be jealous they'd been mean to her, but she couldn't make herself believe that, let alone anyone else.

Then, when Winona married Frank and was assigned an off-planet mission for Starfleet, Addy grew up angry. Frank had been all handsome smiles and charm at first, but two months after her mother left, Addy and her brother Sam saw the man behind the mask.

It started off slow, like molasses. Rude comments, just a little _too_ harsh for any situation that made Adelaide and her brother share worried looks over the dinner table. A random shove of impatience with a bit more force behind it than expected. Name calling. It all culminated to the night Addy would later refer to as The Start.

Frank was drunk, and Sam was gone. He was never home anymore. Always off at the new shipyard on the outskirts of town, gawking at the top-of-the-line vessel being constructed, or crashing at a friend's house. Really the only time she saw her brother anymore was when he came home for a change of clothes. They weren't even in the same school anymore. Stupid, archaic class system constructed on age and not IQ…

Addy was cleaning the dishes after the dinner she'd made (replicating was easy, but she had a thing about doing food old school). Frank was in the living room, watching some sports coverage or another, randomly burping as he threw back beer after beer, and that was fine with her, so long as he stayed out of her hair. She hated Frank. She kept to her books about astronomy, physics, tactical advantages, and she dreamed of one day sailing through the same stars her father had seen. Lost in another of her daydreams, one of the plates, slick with soap, slipped through her fingers and shattered on the floor.

She swore (rather colorfully) in Klingon, drying her hands to pick up the largest pieces when Frank crashed through the living room and into the kitchen. He stank of alcohol. Addy rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Wha's 'is then?" he slurred drunkenly.

"I dropped it," she answered plainly. Frank stumbled further in to the kitchen, glaring at Adelaide's blonde curls.

"'re y'ssasssing me?" he accused. Addy had to bite back a rather scathing retort and take a deep breath to calm herself before she answered.

"No, Frank. Hey! Wha?!" Addy dropped the pieces in her hands as Frank yanked her up to her feet by the collar of the oil-stained shirt she'd favored when restoring her father's classic '64 Corvette. Frank glared down at her with bloodshot green eyes. She gave it right back, so done with his bullshit for the night.

"I don' like yer tone!" A wave of nausea swept over Addy as his breath wafter in to her face. Dear god, how many of those beer had he drank?

Addy opened her mouth to explain she hadn't really had much of a tone, but the words never traveled farther than her tongue. Frank's hand smacked across her face with surprising accuracy, making her bite her tongue so hard she tasted blood. She yelped in surprise at the sting, and scowled up at him with all the hatred she could muster at the age of twelve.

That's when the beating really began.

She never begged him to stop or cried out for her mother. She grunted and squealed in pain, but otherwise she remained silent, taking the hits and kicks like she'd been trained. Every time his fist landed on her skin, her anger burned a little hotter, until her skin was nearly boiling off her bones. She hated this man, so much bigger and stronger than her. She hated him, trying to take the place of father and swagger around the house like he'd fucking built it with his own hands. She hated Frank so much it made her thin, little body quiver.

When she crawled in to the shower later that night, after she left Frank passed out on the kitchen floor in a pile of his own vomit, she did a cursory examination of the damage. She didn't have any broken bones that she could feel. She had some real nasty bruises, and her left wrist felt sprained, but there wasn't any obvious damage save for the big shiner over her right eye. It was hard to see out of that one for a little bit, but she wasn't concerned. Colors were still present. She probably just needed to be patient and give her abuse eye time to adjust after the onslaught. The most painful things she'd gotten were actually cuts from the plate shards after Frank had dropped her to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Addy cried herself to sleep that night, so angry at the world for the life she'd been dealt, and longing for her mother and father with every fiber of her very bones. She sent a message to Winona that night explaining what happened and begging her to come back and make it all better. She was lonely, she was scared, and everything hurt. Her sleep that night was full of twists and turns and monsters chasing her through the dark.

When morning came, she had a response from her mother that made the PADD slip from between Addy's slender fingers and silent tears trail down her cheeks. Her mother has responded, saying she was sorry Addy was so lonely, and she knew how hard school was for her, but lying to get attention was never okay, especially when it was about someone as nice as Frank. She was on an important mission and couldn't just leave, so Adelaide would have to be strong and wait until she got home in three weeks Kisses. Hugs. Done. That was it.

Even her mother had abandoned her.

She learned the Frank would hit her with or without alcohol in his system, but it was more painful if he'd downed a few that night, and she tried to stay away from him as best she could when he'd been reaching for the bottle. She also learned that her worst fears had been correct, and nobody cared. Her teacher looked the other way when she worse shirts that didn't quite hid the purple and blue bruises, or the obvious shapes of fingers imprinted on her skin, ugly and angry. Her classmates avoided her like she was the devil, and Addy's loneliness grew.

No one _saw_ her. She had the brightest fucking brains in this damn town, maybe the whole state. Her test scores obliterated the others'. But no one _saw_ her. Addy would go weeks without saying a word to anybody. She took to talking to herself and reading things aloud so that she didn't forget how to speak, and remembered the sound of her own voice. She stopped messaging her mother. She went months without seeing her brother, even around town or for a change of clothes until she pestered one of his teachers about it and they reluctantly admitted that Sam had gone missing weeks ago, presumably ran away. She wasn't even surprised when it didn't hurt anymore.

Addy learned how material and inconsequential things could be with how often Frank went through and destroyed her room. She found that things stopped holding sentimental value to her if they could break so easily.

She walked around a ghost, purple and broken.

Addy took to climbing the giant maple tree that sat next to the shack where her father's Corvette rested, in order to escape her stepfather. She spent hours skipping classes and studying the sky she loved so much. The shipyard was well into the construction of the town's prized ship, bigger, better, faster than all of the others. They very best. Somehow, and she didn't know how she knew this, but somehow, Adelaide knew that one day, it would be _her_ ship. And she could just fly away and never come back.

It was one such time Addy found herself high up among the branches, favoring her right knee, and letting the wind billow her loose hair out in front of her, that she found strange men coming and going from the shack down below. They had expensive suits and wore money like a second skin Her tree was right above everything, and as such, she could hear what they were saying, but not so well at her current height, and not with the wind whistling in her ears.

"…antique…"

"Priceless-"

"..agreement?"

Cold hatred spread through her veins like a wild fire when she realized that Frank was trying to _sell_ her _dad's_ car. She lived with the beatings because they weren't forever (three years, and she could run off to Starfleet Academy early). She stomached the drinking and the isolation. She was used to it. But this… _this was too much._

Patiently, Addy waited all morning until it was well into the afternoon when she knew that Frank would be deep into sleeping off his booze before she dared to deftly climb down the tree. She stalked right in to that shack, balling her fists and glared at the car. _Her_ car. Her _dad's_ car. She'd built it with her own hands, finishing what her father couldn't. How _dare_ Frank think he had any right to ownership of this Corvette. How _dare_ he? If she couldn't keep the car, then he sure as hell wasn't going to, either.

It was the most fun Addy had since she discovered chess. Two weeks later, Tarsus IV, and when she returned, she was different. Addy never forgave her stepfather for that place. She made a promise never to relive that Hell for anyone, and took her scars of what happened to her to the grave.

But she never forgot. And she never forgave.

Life after that fell into something you might call a routine. Frank tried to keep her under his thumb but the first time he'd laid his hands on her, she'd put him on his back so fast, he passed out, and he _finally_ learned to leave her alone. Addy found out that Winona had divorce Frank when she got back from her mission and discovered where her husband had sent poor Adelaide, and she'd been about to kick him out when she'd disappeared without a trace. Leaving Frank as her sole guardian. Addy had her suspicions about that truth, but she could never find any evidence, and grieved her mother's death in private the night she got back. She'd hardened her heart long ago and given up hope that her mother would ever come to her rescue.

If Riverside, Iowa thought Addy was wild _before_ Tarsus, then what they went through after she came back would be what one could call a "rude awakening." Joy riding, underage drinking, vandalism, breaking and entering. There was nothing her mind couldn't do, so she did it all, and built quite a rap sheet for herself in the process. She knew all of the cops by their first name, and not in the good way. Although, she noticed (with a large amount of humor) that despite how they all claimed a fear of her, her recklessness certainly made it easy for her to get someone to warm her bed at night. People around her led such depressing, sheltered lives; they flocked to the danger and wildness of Addy like moths to a flame.

That didn't mean Adelaide slept with any old body, though. She ahd high standards, and was always careful about who she chose. She never picked anyone, man or woman or alien, that she wasn't _sure_ she could subdue if need be.

She knew that kind of helplessness, and never again.

The older she got, the more she looked like her father. She had photos around the house Winona had left behind. She had her father's nose, his brow, and cheekbones. And his eyes. Her eyes were the same piercing shade of blue, almost glowing in the dark. She was tall, like her father, but slender like her mother, and had a way of furrowing her brow when she was deep in thought that Winona swore up and down was a carbon copy of her father's. She even inherited his habit of tugging on her earlobe when she was nervous or confused. However, she'd gotten her mother's soft, golden curls, her small mouth, and long limbs.

As soon as she could, she dropped out of school (because she'd been ahead of these fools for years now, and what was even the point anymore?) and got herself a job. She got the hell out of Dodge as soon as possible, getting a shitty apartment above a sex store, but it was hers, and there was no Frank, and for that, she was eternally grateful. It took some swindling to become a bartender, seeing as she was only 18, but the owner, Zig, owed her many favors, one of which included her fixing up his favorite motorcycle for free. She'd promised no fights, no swindling, just making drinks without getting caught, and in return, she got to keep 75 percent of the tips and a deal on the apartment (which Zig also owned). She made her generous earnings by smiling prettily at the drunken men too far gone to remember they'd already let their wandering hands pass her tips before. She ignored the catcalls and bashed her eyelashes to wring these suckers for every penny they were worth and put away most of her earnings into a savings account for a rainy day. And always, as she drove by on her own motorcycle (she'd built it after Tarsus so he didn't rely on Frank to get around anymore), she stopped by the shipyard and gazed wistfully at the ship steadily growing before her eyes.

It was beautiful.

Adelaide still felt like she was meant for something _more_, something _other_ than Riverside, but she wasn't so sure it was Starfleet anymore. A person could only ignore the whispers and rumors before they started to believe them as truth as well. She was a genius delinquent, and that's all she'd ever be. So when, on the eve of her 20th birthday, the swarm of red cadet recruits flooded the bar for a last whoop before the Academy, Addy steeled her smile, relying on all the strength she'd cultivated through her childhood. Her heart clenched painfully, but she laughed and flirted her future goodbye.

Addy was wiping down the counter during some lull in traffic as music boomed loudly through the sweaty atmosphere, rumbling deep in her chest when an exotic beauty with mocha colored skin and a sly, feline face slipped gracefully through the crowd of dancers. Impressed, Addy watched with interest and no small amount of lust as the dark beauty sidled up to the counter right in front of where she'd been cleaning and picked up a menu, perusing over their choices for the evening. Addy smirked as she leaned closer to the woman over the counter, pictures best kept out of polite company flitting through her head.

"Well, hello there. Something I can help you find?" she purred. The woman looked up with eyes so brown they were almost black, glancing over Adelaide dismissively, and blatantly ignoring the open innuendo.

"I'd like a Klabnian Fire Tea, two Cardassian Sunrises, and three Earth beers, no slim-shots, anything on draft." Addy nodded as the strange woman set down the menu. She shamelessly looked her customer up and down suggestively before starting on those drinks.

"That's a lot of drinks for one woman," she said loudly over the music. "Especially one wearing _those_ boots." The woman rolled her eyes, even as a grin tugged at her lips.

"And a shot of Jack, straight up." Addy raised her eyebrows, setting the mixed drinks to the side and grabbing two shot glasses from below the counter, pouring out two shots of the amber liquid. She handed one to the other woman and took one for herself.

"On me," she said, clinking their glasses together and downing the burning drink in one go. The woman's smile widened, and she followed suit, grimacing as the drink went down her throat.

"Her shot's on her, thanks. You're cute, but not _that_ cute." Addy raised an eyebrow lewdly. She caught Zig's eyes, signaling she was taking a break, and stepped out from behind the counter. With a better view, she appreciated just how well the red cadet dress hugged this woman's curves, her long legs disappearing into her black leather boots.

"Oh I will have you know," Addy leaned into the woman's space, encouraged when she didn't back up, "there are many people that will tell you I am _more_ than cute enough, Ms..?" the lady smiled coyly, keeping her lips together. Damn. Addy felt the familiar warmth of arousal deep in her gut. She could have _fun_ with this one.

"If you don't tell me your name, I'm just gonna have to make one up," she warned, trailing her fingers over skin that reminded Addy of hot chocolate on cold winter nights.

"Uhura." Addy opened her eyes in mock surprise.

"Uhura? No way! That's the name I was gonna make up! Uhura what?" The cadet snorted in derision, but the smile was still honest, so Addy knew she still had a decent chance.

"Just Uhura." Addy frowned. Not the direction she wanted.

"They don't have last names in your world?" she teased.

"Uhura _is_ my last name." Uhura shifted just the slightest bit away from Addy, her smile thinning. Addy retracted her hand. If she was going to get anywhere with this woman, making her feel uncomfortable was not the way to make it happen.

"Okay, okay, I gotcha. So. You're a cadet. What's your focus?" Uhura considered her for a moment before seeming to believe the subject of her name was really dropped before she broke out in a smile that was decidedly more smug than before. Addy knew that smile. She'd seen it many times before on the faces of people who felt they held something over her, mainly intelligence, and were going to rub it in her face. Right before she crushed that notion and threw it right back at them.

"Xenolinguistics," she puffed proudly, "and _you_ don't even know what that means."

'_Oh honey…'_

"Xenolinguistics," Addy quoted the Starfleet recruit pamphlet, "the study of alien languages. Phonology, morphology, syntax…" she let her sentence trail off, hanging in the air, basking in the familiar feelings of pride at the shock in Uhura's eyes. Then, to soften the blow and let Uhura get out of this without feeling too guilty, "It means you're good with your tongue."

With that highly suggestive comment (equipped with her signature I'm-hot-shit grin), she got the conversation steered more towards her original goal of this woman flat on her back, moaning beneath her. Addy quivered at the thought. Uhura leaned closer to Addy, not bothering to hide the shock and obvious interest. Success.

"And here I thought you were just some dumb hick who only has sex with farm animals."

'_Yeah?'_ Addy thought wryly, _'what else is new?'_

She shrugged at Uhura, waggling her eyebrows up and down. The other woman giggled. Addy opened her mouth to go in for the kill, reveling in all the way Uhura _could_ use her tongue that night, when, of course…

"Hey, sugar, where are out drinks we ordered ten minutes ago?" Irritated at the cock-block (metaphorically speaking, of course), addy turned to find several red shirts undressing her ass with their minds. She plastered on the fakest smile she had.

"I'm on break, so you'll have to find someone else to help you."

"Oh… I think you could help us just fine." Disgusted, Addy turned back to Uhura, who looked thoroughly unimpressed and decidedly less interested in their previous conversation. Well balls. This was quickly not ending how she was planning for her night. What about all her hard work? When the obvious leader of the gang put his hands on her, Adelaide tensed and growled.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. Too many times she'd been unable to defend herself, left to the mercy of others. This time was different. Zig, the closest thing she had to a friend in this town, taught her how to hold her own in a serious fight.

Which she was about to start if these drunk ass fuckers didn't let go of her.

"Ooh," the man joked to his friends behind him, "look boys. Kitty's got claws."

Fuck this.

Addy yanked her arm out from his grip, unbalancing him, and gave him a quick knee to the nuts, dropping him like a rock with a howl of pain. Enraged, the rest of her gang made a grab for her, but she slipped right between their awkward, fumbling hands, and kicked one of them in the back of the knees, and earned a punch to her jaw for her troubles. Whirling around, she barely ducked another punch and tackled the assailant to the ground, elbowing him in the side of his head, dazing him.

Rolling away, in case of another fight, she jumped to her feet, where a man came up behind her and wrapped her thick arms around her torso. Addy snarled and kicked him in the shin, and his grip loosened with a big yelp. Enough for her to slip out, where she grabbed an empty wine bottle on the table closest to her and smashed it over his head. The leader stood up on his shaky feet again, glaring at her, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

"Something wrong, Cupcake?" she taunted. He roared and charged at Adelaide, who made to jump out of the way, but he was faster than she thought, and his left hook caught her in her right eye, sending her flying backwards. She groaned, her eye throbbing, and knew she was going to be sporting a wicked black eye later. Cupcake stalked towards her, smiling dangerously, and she knew she had to get up, but her body was slow, and she couldn't move. She felt blood trickling out of her nose. Her jaw was sore.

Shiiiiiiit.

She rolled away from him and stumbled to her feet, coming up on Cupcake's side. She kicked at his knee, and the pressure from such an angle on such a weak point brought him down to his knees where Addy brought her leg up to connect with his nose. With an, "Oof" the man fell backward. She couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not. Addy stood there, proud, but the man she'd kicked in the shin had recovered and tackled her to the ground, screaming as he punched her in the face twice. He pulled his fist back for the winning shot when a loud whistle pierced through the commotion and noise of the crowd.

All cadets instantly stood at attention (well that ones that weren't lying on the floor, anyway) as a Starfleet officer leveled all of them with a heavy look.

"Outside, all of you," he commanded softly. "_Now_." The cadets shuffled past her with mutters of "Freak" and "Wouldn't fucking listen, I just wanted a drink, damn it," but it all passed over Addy like water. She'd heard it all before, and it wasn't something she'd never hear again. They were only words. They were just sore that she'd kicked all of their asses as hard as all of _them_ did to her.

Chumps.

Addy blinked hard at the man, her nose swollen and throbbing, and her ears still ringing with the force of his whistle. The tall man cocked his head at her, curious and worried. She must look like shit. This struck her as funny, and she started to laugh, but groaned in pain instead when it pulled on her split lip and swollen jaw.

"You alright, Adelaide?" Her head, light and dizzy from the blow and being upside down too long got fuzzy. The edges of her visions went dark, and she knew she was going to faint, but what really bothered her was the annoying whistle she couldn't make go away.

"You… can whistle really loud," she slurred around her swollen tongue, "you know that?" And with that accusing question, she promptly fainted, blood trickling down her nose.

It would only be later that night she would wonder how this man had known her name.


	3. Wake Up Call

**Oh goodness, two chapters in one day?**

**Am I boss? Because I'm pretty sure this makes me a boss. Bwahaha.**

**So. Yes. Hi. I was speed typing this up so that I could get it posted and not lag behind in what I have typed with what I have written, and then when it was typed, it was just there, and I was thinking, 'Well why not?' So here you have it. Chapter three of _Reaching for the Stars_. I like this chapter. A lot. Like, I am super pleased with how this turned out.**

**I hope I did Bones justice. He is maybe my favorite character ever, and I really wanted to capture my perception of him, and how I think he would act around James if James were a chick.**

**So, tell me how I did with a lovely review? You know you want toooooooo.**

**Kisses!**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

"Look, Ziggie, I didn't mean – "

"Don't." Zig's voice was harsh. Addy ducked her head in shame. She had no idea what she'd been _thinking_, starting a fight like that in his bar during such an important event. Cupcake had touched her, and she'd just flown at the window. Which wasn't uncommon for Addy, she did _not_ tolerate being manhandled by anybody. But the place was totally trashed. Broken glasses, tables turned over, sticky drinks all over the floor… she hadn't even thought they were moving around that much, but apparently she'd been wrong, and she'd fucked over the only person that had been nice to her in this God-forsaken town since her mother. She _hadn't_ been thinking. She never did. Always dove right into something without looking to see who would get hurt if she did, and this time it was Zig.

"Here," he growled as he shoved a frozen pack of blueberries into her hand, even though his hands were shaking in his fury. "Fer yer eye." With that, Zig stormed off, snatching up a broom and trying to make the place look more decent. Angry at herself, Addy gingerly pressed the frozen fruits to her face, and shuffled over to the only standing table where the older man sat, waiting patiently. He had light brown (but slightly graying) hair, and soft green eyes.

Addy didn't trust him.

"My name's Captain Christopher Pike," he introduced himself politely as she fell in to the chair.

"Yeah, that's nice," she snapped.

"Ya know," he chortled, unperturbed, "I couldn't believe it when the bartender told me who you are." Adelaide sat up straighter in her seat and tense. What was he getting at?

"…And who am I, Captain Pike?" he blinked at her as if the answer should be obvious.

"Your father's daughter." She bristled. She wanted to flip this man off and go sulk in the privacy of her home where she could nurse herself back to a place where living here didn't hurt so much. She didn't, though, even though her bruised hand itched to, if only because she still respected and longed for the position Pike had. Still, she didn't like how this conversation was going. Pike smiled at her, only serving to stoke her anger.

"For my dissertation, I was assigned the _U.S.S. Kelvin._ Something I admired about your dad… he didn't believe in no-win scenarios." Addy stilled, and slowly set the blueberries on the table. Something else she'd inherited from her father, it seemed. Addy refused to believe there was a problem she couldn't get out of, if she thought hard enough, and she didn't believe in fate. Things happened in her life because she made choices that led to them, and on the flip-side, she could always find the right choice that would lead herself _out_ of them. It's that thinking that had kept her alive on Tarsus.

"Well," she scoffed to hide her shock, "he sure learned _his_ lesson, now didn't he?"

"I guess it depends on how you look at it," Pike countered. "_You're_ here, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes. If he was trying to guilt her into something, he was going to be sorely disappointed. Addy did not take well to being manipulated, and often did the opposite of what people wanted her to, purely out of spite.

"That instinct to leap without looking – that was his nature, too. And, in my opinion, it's something that Starfleet has lost." Addy laughed out loud at that, pulling the tissue wads out of her no-longer-bleeding nose. She was done beating around the bush. Pike obviously had an agenda, and it had to do with her. He would get a much better result by being honest and open with her and explaining her options rather than trying to goad her into thinking a certain way and feeling convinced the process had been completely her choice. He had a speech all planned out, she could tell, but she was done. No more games. She just wanted this conversation to be over so she could go home.

"Okay, what the hell do you want from me, man?" Pike looked thoughtful for a moment before laying out his real topic of conversation. Her dad had only been a tool to lead her down a certain path. Addy wouldn't let anyone use her father's name like that against her, that was for damn sure.

"I looked up for your file while you were drooling on the floor." Addy flushed in embarrassment at being so vulnerable in front of strangers. "Your aptitude tests are off the charts," _Well duh_, "so what is it?"

Addy ignored him, choosing instead to play with the salt and pepper shakers modeled after Starfleet ships. Pike sighed.

"D'you _like_ being the only genius-level repeat-offender in the Midwest?" Addy cocked a snarky smile at the table, leering up at the Federation Officer.

"Maybe I _love_ it." Pike pursed his lips.

"Fine. So your daddy dies," he quipped bluntly. Addy lost her smile and glared at him again. "You can settle for a less-than-ordinary life. Or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special?"

Now she saw why Pike was Captain. He saw through all the bullshit lies and deceits she'd fooled everyone else with, and cut right to the heart of the matter. Adelaide had never felt like she was meant for the Podunk town of Riverside. Everything in her _knew_ she was supposed to go out into space, leading an exploration vessel. She was too smart to be stuck here until she died, with nothing but the farms and Frank. _Addy_ knew this about herself, but she didn't like that Pike knew this about her after only five minutes of his calm honesty, and her wounded snark. Wasn't she supposed to trick people?

"Come to think of it, I _do_ want to feel special," she mocked, trying to hide her anxiety. "You know what I'll do? I'll go start a book club and –"

"Enlist." Addy froze, floored by how offhand the suggestion was.

'_Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!'_

'_No! Nothing comes for free. Don't trust him.'_

"_Enlist!?_" she cracked a disbelieving laugh, opening the split on her lip once more. "Ow _fuck_!" Pike examined his immaculate nail, not buying her game. "You poor bastards must be low on your recruiting quota for the month."

"If you're half the person your father was, Adelaide, Starfleet could use you." Addy mulled this over, silent. There really was _nothing_ for her here, now. Why was she even bothering to have her devil-may-care attitude in the first place? This was a siren's call of her one true wish being offered up to her on a silver platter by a Starfleet Captain himself. Why was she trying so hard to say no?

'_Because,'_ Frank sneered in her head, _'you know that it will be the same for you there as it has been your whole life. No one wants you. No one needs you.'_

Pike's eyes gleamed with hope. He could see the internal struggle, could see her resolve wavering.

"You could be an officer in four years, have your own ship in eight. You could be a part of something wonderful and inspired, Adelaide. The Federation is a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada –"

"We're done now, right?" she interrupted. No more. No more promises. No more words. No more Pike. She needed him to leave. Now. Pike searched her eyes, forest green clashing with Kirk blue before he nodded and rose to his feet. She tensed when he didn't immediately leave, but turned back to her with a final parting message on his lips.

"Riverside shipyard. Shuttle for new recruits leaves tomorrow, 0800." Addy nodded tersely, her head swimming with a confused mess of insecurity and desire. She was so confused. She needed time to think about this, and for that Pike had to fucking _leave_.

"Your father was Captain for 17 minutes. He save 800 lives, including your mother's. And yours," his voice was soft, passionate with his conviction. "I dare you to do better."

"We're _done_," she snarled. Pike hesitated a moment before finally leaving without so much as a backwards glance.

Starfleet. She'd been asked to join _Starfleet_. All that reading, self-teaching, loneliness, it had all be in the hopes that she was so impressive that Starfleet had no choice but to notice her and beg on their hands and knees. Now they were here, and they had offered, and she had no fucking idea what to do with it. Floundering, she stood up and grabbed her leather jacket off the back of the chair, preparing to leave.

"Hey kid," Zig called from across the room, stopping his task of cleaning. Addy froze, and turned around cautiously, her guilt crashing down on her. "Happy birthday." Taken aback , she looked up at the wall clock. 12:01 AM.

"If it's worthy any, I always knew you'd go on ta somethin' better," Zig mumbled grudgingly, turning his back to her and picking up the broom once again. Addy waited a moment and smiled at him and slipped out the front door. So… Starfleet.

Happy birthday to her, indeed.

Addy rode all through the night, her motorcycle whirring electrically beneath her. She made a pit stop at her small apartment to clean the blood off her face before she left again, without bothering to change her bloodied clothes. The skin around her eye was already turning blue, but she'd dealt with worse.

Much worse.

Addy had no real direction in mind. She just got on her bike and kicked up a trail of dust behind her. Really, she shouldn't've been surprised when she ended up at the shipyard. She always ended up at the shipyard, if given a choice. Sighing, she turned off her bike, and sat back on the seat, looking up through the early-morning gray at the nearly-finished Starship. It wasn't even named yet. But it was huge, and it was beautiful. Many things came and went in Addy's life, and she made it a habit of never expecting things to last, but that feeling had never left her. Ignored and buried under layers of doubt and lack of self-esteem, but always there. Addy didn't know why she believed this feeling so profoundly; she didn't believe in fate. It went against everything she'd grown up telling herself and living by, right down at her very core. But she couldn't ignore that hopeful voice, not quite her own, in her head, telling her that this ship would be hers someday, and she would be the best damn Captain Starfleet had ever had.

So, she _wasn't_ surprised when, come 0730, she revved up her bike and rode around the perimeter of the fend and through the entrance. This was _not_ because Pike had talked her into it. He'd just given her the means to accomplish something she'd spent her life dreaming she would do. She grinned internally as the sun hung low and bright in the sky, not a cloud in sight. Construction workers meandered around as Addy rode further onto the complex, ending up right under the belly of the beast. Some men wolf-whistled at her, some gawked (it was probably the blood on her shirt), and even more ignored her completely/ She pulled to a stop in front of the shuttle, Captain Pike smirking at her all smug '_I-told-you-so's_' seeping from every pore.

One ship builder slowed, staring at her bike appreciatively. Addy's chest swelled with pride. She built this bike from the ground up with nothing but scrap and her own hands. Sadly, it couldn't come with her, but she wasn't bothered. She'd just build a new one in San Francisco. This bike wasn't anything special, just another thing made with metal and wires.

"_Nice_ ride," the worker sighed wistfully. Addy swung her leg over the seat, pulling out the keys and kicking the stand in to place so the bike didn't fall over as she walked towards the shuttle. She tossed the keys at the man, and he reflexively caught them, gawking at the bright silver ring in wonder.

"Live it up, hot stuff." And with a wink and a sway of her hips, she strut right up to Captain Pike with a challenge (a promise?) on her face and put her hands on her hips, smiling like the devil herself.

"Four years?" she scoffed in derision. "I'll do it in _three._" And she walked right up those steps, pretending she hadn't seen the grin on the Captain's face.

It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, and in that moment, all conversation between the cadets ceased. They were staring at her. Addy shifted her weight uncomfortable, scanning the rows of seats for an extra so she could slip in to the crowd and disappear. Seeing none, she walked further in, past all their saucer eyes, and smiled when she saw Cupcake and one of his goons from last night. The evidence of her brawl peered at her from the bruise on the goon's face, and the swollen, slightly crooked (was it broken?) nose Cupcake had. She winked her black at and blew a kiss.

"At east, gentlemen." Cupcake glared. Addy giggled.

Continuing her search for a seat leaf her to the near back of the shuttle where, miracle of miracles, Uhura sat gaping up at the blonde. And, fortunately for Adelaide, there was an empty seat next to her. She slipped right into it without even a 'how d'ya do' and stuck up the conversation from last night like there had been no time-lapse at all.

"Never did get that first name, Stacey." Uhura narrowed her eyes as Addy strapped in to her buckles.

"Stacey? Not even close."

"Well then maybe you could correct my errors so that I know what name to call out in my dreams, Clover." Addy responded politely, more with a conversational tone about the weather than the tease she was poking at the proud woman. Uhura spluttered cutely, her face flushing a pretty shade of pink.

"_You are such a_ –" The shorter woman halted her rant she'd been gearing up towards when they heard a commotion up front by the bathroom. A flight officer was manhandling a tall, burly man out from the bathroom with pursed lips (which impressed Adelaide, because he was easily six inches taller than her) and towards the only seat left, across the aisle from Addy's spot.

"Are you people deaf?" the man growled. "I told you, I don't need a doctor, dammit. I AM a doctor!" Addy smiled and cocked her head at his smooth southern lilt. Not even ten minutes had passed, and already her life was more interesting. Oh yeah, definitely the right choice.

The man had chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes, and (her libido helpfully pointed out), an extremely handsome face hidden beneath untamed scruff and a gnarly scowl. His clothes were wrinkled and shabby, and she was so tall, he couldn't stand upright in the shuttle.

Adelaide liked him instantly.

"You need to find a seat –" tired the officer.

"I _had_ one, Darlin'. In that bathroom. _With no windows._ I have aviophobia, it means the fear of dying in something that flies!" The woman's face tightened at the condescending tone in his voice. Addy and Uhura shared a look.

"Sir," she snapped, "for your safety, sit down or I will _make_ you sit down, do you hear me?" The pair glared at each other, before the man grumbled something unintelligible and dropped into the seat across from Addy. He scowled at the officer as she strode off with her head high in the air, and hastily put on his seat buckles. Ripping a small silver flash from the depths of his coat, he took a swig and turned to the baby-face next to him.

"I might throw up on ya," he warned. The fresh recruit paled, his eyes wide and anxious.

"But… these things are pretty safe, I'm told…" Mr. Happy snorted at that and took another drink. Addy only now noticed how her amused grin was hurting her injured lip.

"Don't pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boil in 13 seconds." Addy couldn't contain herself any longer and barked out a sharp laugh at his cynicism. Southern Man glared over at her, blinking in surprised at the dragged-up-from-Hell abuse obvious on her face.

"Well, aren't you just a bundle of joy," she teased. He looked over her face for something before taking another gulp of liquid courage and sighing.

"Outer space ain't happy, darlin'. Solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seat. An' wait 'til yer sittin' pretty with a case o'Andorian shingles, see if yer still so damn relaxed when yer eyeballs are bleedin'. Space is disease and danger after darkness and silence." Adelaide grinned at the man, even as it opened (yet again) her lip, and she tasted blood on her tongue.

"You are going to be my friend," she declared. She loved the way that sounded coming out of her mouth. She'd never said those words to anybody in her life, before. Something in his faced softened, making kindness leek through. Ah, so he was really a big teddy bear under it all, was he? He quirked an eyebrow at her curiously.

"You tryna sweet-talk me?" Addy's grin widened and she waggled her eyebrows at him. He scoffed and sipped from his flask one last time before offering it to her. She gladly accepted, happy for the familiar burn of some really damn good scotch, as it trickled down her throat.

"I hate to tell you," Uhura drew both of their attention to her, "but Starfleet operates in space. If you're so scared, why enlist?"

The man's face darkened.

"My ex-wife took damn near everythin' with her in the divorce, includin' the planet," he shrugged angrily and accepted the near empty flask back from Addy with a nod. "Got nowhere ta go but up, with nothin' to take with me but mah bones."

"Well, Bones," Addy immediately dubbed him, "pleasure's all mine. My name's Adelaide. Adelaide Kirk." Uhura's eyes widened a fraction. Oh, yeah, Addy forgot to mention her name last night, hadn't she? "And this here is Ms. No First Name Uhura."

Bones frowned in confusion. Uhura glared. She couldn't correct Addy's lie without giving away her first name. Addy had no idea why it was such a secret, but it only made her want to know all the more.

"Is that so?" Bones asked Uhura disbelievingly. Uhura turned her glared on him then turned away from them both with an affronted sniff, talking to the other people around her. Addy giggled and Bones looked between the two women before deciding the story wasn't worth the effort. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy."

"Leonard McCoy…" Addy turned the name over in her mouth, chewing over the letters before shaking her head. "Nah, I'm gonna stick with Bones."

Bones finished off the last of his flask and looked at it forlornly before stuffing it back in his jacket.

"Do what ya like, darlin'."

"_This is Captain Pike. We have been cleared for takeoff. Stand by."_ Bones paled and tightened the buckles on his seat as the shuttle sprang to life and lurched into the air. Addy chuckled at him, and her nervously narrowed his eyes at her.

"That attitude of yers get ya that shiner, kid?" Next to Addy, Uhura stiffened. Addy crowed inside. She just _knew_ the linguist had still been listening.

"What do you think, Uhura?" The darker skinned woman studiously ignored Addy's sly voice, continuing her discussion with the green Orion girl on her other side. Oh this place was just too much fun. Addy smirked and looked back at Bones, who was starting to look a little green around the gills, and not at all amused with the curly blonde woman. She frowned.

"You really gonna throw up?" she asked, concerned.

"Maybe…" Bones groaned. The cadet next to him inched away nervously as much as he could with the buckles restricting his movement. Addy shook her head hopelessly, crossing her fingers for the best and looked out the window at the rising sun. She had the feeling that this was only the start of something truly great that would last her the rest of her life.

* * *

**THREE YEARS LATER**

Adelaide waited patiently on the steps of the library for her friend as he finished up his research project inside on some kind of festering disease or some other such disgusting menace. She fiddled with the program on her PADD that would change everything, smoothing it out, making it more elegant and clever. She knew it would be found, and with the way this would go down, they would know it was her program, but that was exactly what she wanted, so she wasn't trying to hide that it was her program. Just buy her time until things had cooled down and it didn't matter so much anymore. So she took the time Bones needed to study to give it some life, and attach it to a message to her "friend" Gaila, who would receive strict orders not to open it until eight. The only catch with this program would have to be opened directly on a simulation computer, and she couldn't do that herself as she would be testing.

Finished, she flicked it off the screen, sending her message out into the ether to be transmitted to Gaila's account and waited for her friend, impatiently bouncing her leg. She would have liked to go inside with him, but she'd been kicked out the doors like a puppy being punished, and forbidden from entering the building to seek him out. It had been _hours_ already, and she was bored. Addy didn't really need to study, of course. Well, she did anyway, because it was her pride on the line with Pike if she didn't finish her studies (a double damn major, thank you very much) in the three years she'd promised, and studying was always good. She'd actually studied her whole experience away these past three years and said no to many a party or missed one-night stand, much to her own dismay. But she didn't really _need_ to study for this term. All that was left were these wrap-up courses, and then her officer's examinations, and then the impending promotion everyone knew was coming her way.

Boom.

Done.

She'd already been into space, lucky her. She had the experience. As part of her tactical training she'd been assigned as an intern of sorts to the tactical department of the _U.S.S Farragut_, really only intended to be a shadow. Things hadn't gone exactly like planned for Captain Garrovick when he'd landed on a new planet, and there had been an unexpected… visitor. Well… six visitors. _Well_… six visitors and a lion that Kirk had stopped because the chief of the department wouldn't know what to do if his shoelaces untied, let alone under duress and coercion. So, she'd quite literally shoved him to the side and done her duty.

And hey, if she'd been showing off a little bit… that was neither here nor there.

Pike had personally handed her the small token of bravery and ingenuity for her actions, all pride and self-satisfaction, and the swiftly turned around and reprimanded her for her reckless behavior and risking the lives of the _Farragut_ so brashly, but whatever. She knew he was proud with his investment, and she'd gotten a medal, so who cared? It's not like anyone had died. Addy had ignored how that look in his eyes had made her insides all warm with happiness when he praised her. Bones had called her a "damn fool" and then hugged her so tight she couldn't breathe. And now it was her turn to prove herself once again. There was just one thing blocking her way.

The fucking _Kobayshi Maru_ test.

She'd failed it twice already. The first time had blown her completely out of her seat. She'd been using some pretty damn tricky moves and had managed to incapacitate the Klingon Birds of Prey ships without killing many (don't ask her how, it was mostly luck), and only lost a small portion of the _Maru_ as collateral damage. She'd swooped in, ready to rescue the ship's crew, when a concealed ship appeared out of nowhere behind her and blew her own ship out of the stars. Which was impossible with the type of ships this program was simulating. And even the enemy race it chose. Most Klingon ships weren't built for stealth tech or were easy to hide from sensors, and Klingons didn't really use those types of tactics anyway. They didn't believe in sneaking around slinking in the dark; it defied their code of honor in battle. So there had been only one possibility left: the game cheated.

The second time had been to test this theory. Addy had gone back, much to the surprise of… well, everyone really. Her technique varied from old school to kamikaze and changing constantly, so fast that the program had problems keeping up and was glitching and lagging. The professors overseeing the test had looked nervous at that, but relieved when, like last time (and just like she'd expected) there had been some anomaly she hadn't accounted for and she'd died.

The game was cheating.

And that… that just pissed her off. She was the _best_ in this damn Academy. She _never_ lost. She'd been the president of the 3D chess club all three years. She's dread every book. She tested so ridiculously high, it made her professors' eyes bulge. She was Adelaide Kirk. She _didn't_ lose. There was no situation she couldn't win. But what pissed her off the most was how everyone seemed to take this test just fucking _expecting_ to fail. They didn't even question it. They just nodded and shuffled off like sheep at their defeat. They rolled over and lied down for a death that they didn't have to take. There was no fight in them. No creativity. They all really honestly believed the lie that there were situations where they wouldn't be able to do anything, when people could _always_ do something.

They needed a wake-up call.

Addy contemplated this and the implications of this, and what it could mean for her if they found out. Cheating was punishable by expulsion, worst case scenario, and hold on being put on a Starship. Which would break her heart right down the middle, but she couldn't just sit down and accept this test for what it was. It was a fraud, run by liars, and since she was the only one who saw what was going on from this side of the fence, it was her job to put an end to it.

"Christ, kid, did ya really wait here the whole time?" a deep voice growled behind her. Addy smiled, and tilted her head back to smile upside down up at Bones' face. He'd been clean-shaven ever since they started school, and she had to admit, while it made the man look younger, she kinda missed the scruff.

"I had nothing else to do, Bonesie. The Krav Maga class was canceled, so my wondrous teaching capabilities weren't needed," she shrugged, standing up, referencing to the partial arts class that she was a teacher's aide for. She was two steps below him, making her shorter than usual standing next to the already-taller-than-her brunette. His heart was cleanly combed to the side, not a trace of the shabbiness she'd seen on the shuttle left on him. His bright red cadet's outfit matched her own red dress uniform. She hated it. She had specially asked for the winter dress with sleeves down to her elbows because the summer style only capped her shoulders, and she didn't want prying eyes asking her about the numerous white scars on her arms. Only Bones had that privilege, and that was because he was the only doctor she accepted. It wasn't entirely condoned by the board yet, since her chosen physician was still technically a student, but she had vehemently denied every suggestion, and her stubborn streak won out in the end.

"Well ya coulda gone and eatin' or somethin', I dunno. I wouldn't'a kicked ya out if'n I knew ya'd just sit here the whole damn time," he grumbled, looking down at her petulantly. She raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Why, Bones, is that guilt I hear in your voice?" He flushed and his look turned irritated.

"No," he hissed. She giggled.

"Well if you feel so bad about kicking me to the curb," he ducked his head at this, "then you can make it up to me by being there at the _Kobayashi Maru_ test I'm taking tomorrow morning." Bones' eyes widened, incredulous.

"Yer takin' that thing _again_?" Addy nodded, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Yeah, and I want you to be there. You'll do it for me, right?" bones shook his head in disbelief and strode past her down the steps, mumbling something probably nasty about her intelligence. Oh Bones. Addy sped after him, walking quickly to keep up with his longer legs.

"Ya know, I got better things to do than watch you embarrass yourself for a third time. I'm a doctor, darlin', I'm busy," he snapped. Addy frowned, falling behind a little bit, surprised at how much that stung. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared to do this. This was serious business, and if she got caught, she was going to go down in a big ball of flames, and Addy didn't know if she could find the strength to do this without him. "I'm not interested."

Addy rolled her eyes and jumped in front of him, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

"I didn't ask if you have 'an interest,' Bones, I asked if you'd do it." He considered her, his arms crossed over his chest, a textbook and some papers cradled close to him.

"I'm about to ya an obvious question," he warned. "Why bother?"

That. That right _there_ is why she bothered.

"Because I've failed the test twice."

"Yeah, I know, I was there," he hedged, not seeing where she was trying to get with all this.

"No, Bones. I've _lost_. Twice. Me. Lost. Don't you think that's weird that I, of all people, haven't won? That _no one has ever_ won?" His eyes blinked at her before looking up to the sky where he was probably asking the good Lord for patience.

"Yes, ya said that already, I heard ya, ya lost, but guess what, darlin', even _you_ make mistakes. Yer not God. I just don't see why yer goin' back fer thirds. It's the hardest damn test in the whole 'fleet. No one goes back. It's not like ya need it to graduate, and hell, yer already ahead'a schedule, Addy." Addy stuck her chin out stubbornly, even as she preened at the veiled compliment. Yes, she _was_ ahead of schedule, and nothing, not even this stupid test, would be a blemish on her track record.

"Then why do they make us take it?" she challenged. Bones opened his mouth to respond, but Addy raised her eyebrows at him, silently telling him to stop and really think over his answer. He frowned and considered her question seriously, before groaning and giving up and tossing his hands in the air.

"Dammit, I'm a doctor, not a professor. How should I know?" Addy stared at him earnestly, really starting to worry he would say no.

"Please?" she begged softly. He stopped when he heard the concern in her voice, and his face softened like it always did with her. "I really need you there, Bones." He weighed his options before he exhaled and sagged his shoulders in defeat, nodding his consent.

"Fine! Jus' stop lookin' at me like that! I'll be there, but yer insane." Addy squealed in delight, and tackled him with a great big hug, pecking him on the cheek. When she stood back, beaming up at him, he was blushing.

"Then it's a good thing you're _my_ doctor, isn't it?" He awkwardly scratched his head, and Addy was amused when the color of his cheeks darkened.

"Ya better study for it this time, because I'ma tell you, there won't be a fourth fer me," he muttered. Addy turned smug. There wouldn't be a fourth for her, either, not after tomorrow. He stepped around her, dropping his hands, and continuing on towards the male dorms, albeit, at a slower pace.

"Yeah about that…" she trailed off, "I have this hot date I can't let down. Don't wait up for me, honey bunch! You're the greatest!" She spun on her toes and walked away as Bones grouched at her teasing, and she disappeared easily into the sea of red cloth. She could tell him his warning tone that another lecture was around the corner, so she left earlier than she needed to, with a couple of hours to kill before she met up with Gaila. Her braided hair swished softly behind her as she moved, shining like a beacon in the California sunlight. The San Francisco building stood tall and glittering, and the Golden Gate Bridge stood tall and proud off in the distance. Addy danced through the crowd, smiling, a tuneless hum deep in her throat as she looked around at all of her peers.

It was time to wake up.

* * *

**So. Yeah. Really liked this chapter. i tried to be better about my mistakes and errors, but again, apologize if there are any I missed.  
**

**Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think with a review. It would make me so happy!**

**Peace.**


	4. Morning Comes With New Eyes Open

**Here we are again, my loves!**

**A newer chapter, a newer Adelaide, and hint at characters to come (SPOILERS: It's Spock.)!**

**Thank you so much to everyone that has left me a review. They really give me the motivation to keep going. And still don't worry about _Second Chances_ if you have also read that one, I haven't abandoned it, I promise. Just to figure out a couple things that aren't lining up and then, boom! I'll have it posted.**

**I hope I did a better job at proofreading this time, but I honestly don't have much patience for it, hence all the glaring mistakes. However, if someone would want to beta read it for me, I could be persuaded. (;**

**Kisses,**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do now own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

"Oh Addy," the Orion woman moaned lewdly, "I love you, Addy!" Addy froze, stopping the attention she was paying to the woman's unnaturally smooth green skin. Gaila, one of her many fuck buddies at the academy, had just taken this arrangement they had… _there_. Well, shit. How was she supposed to respond to that?

"…Yeah…" she muttered awkwardly, unhappy at her swiftly disappearing interest in Gaila's lack of clothing. "So… I sent you a message…"

Gaila stilled beneath her, and Addy knew she was in trouble when the Orion pushed her off her green body and commanded the lights on in a terse voice. She contemplated running, but with the look on Gaila's face, she wouldn't make it far.

"I tell you I love you, and you say, 'I sent you a message'?" Addy grinned sheepishly, bringing her hand up to scratch the back of her head. Her hair was disheveled, and a small hickey slowly darkening on her neck. Her drew was mostly unzipped down the back and slipping of her shoulders, and her under shirt was in the process of being bunched up so Gaila could have access to her (quite nice, thank you) chest. Her green-skinned companion was hardly wearing anything, her laced underwear not hiding beneath. Gail was more curvy than Addy was, but that didn't bother her. She liked her women nice and well-rounded.

'_This certainly isn't how I planned to spend my evening…'_ she thought ruefully.

"You can only open it tomorrow at 0800 on the dot," she said emphatically, brushing the demanded explanation in Gaila's words. The Orion woman was one of the support techs that helped run the traitorous _Maru_ simulation, and Addy would admit she was guilty of seeking her out as a "friend" for that very reason in the beginning. She needed an in for her program, and yes, she knew Gaila would likely hate her for this, but she had limited options. Addy didn't like being beat, and this was her reputation on the line. She was nothing if not vindictive.

"What are you talking about?" Gaila asked suspiciously. "What is it? What does it say?"

"Gaila," Addy warned, " promise me you're not going to open it until eight –"

"Just tell me what it says!"

"I'll erase it, swear to God, if you don't promise me you'll–"

"Alright! Eight! I prom–" They both froze as the door to Gaila's dorm softly whirred to life and someone entered the entrance sequence. Addy had taken a chance on the woman's curiosity to make sure she'd open the message on time and not a moment sooner, and as such, hadn't been paying attention to the sound of footsteps. It would be bad if anyone caught her in Gaila's room, one of the sim techs, the day before she took the test. Gaila made a mad scramble, tossing Addy over the side of her bed, her face panicked.

"Hide!" she whispered.

"I thought you said your roommate was gone for the night?" Addy asked.

"Well obviously, she's not. Quick, under the bed. I promised to stop bringing fuck buddies back to the room." Addy frowned, crossing her arms, suddenly not caring so much about who might see her.

"And exactly how many people have you –" Gaila rolled her eye with an exasperated sigh and flailed her hands in the blonde's face.

"Just get down!" Part of her wanted to refuse, just on principle, but she conceded for sensibility's sake. And… maybe she was a bit curious about Gaila's roommate. She grinned when, having shimmied under her friend's small twin, she found a bright pink thong that had gone missing the last time Addy had come to visit. That had been a fun night. Lots of rope.

Addy turned away from the memory when black leather boots walked into her line of sight, distracting her. Her eyes followed the boots up, and she moved carefully to a better spot to follow the mocha-cream legs up and up and up for miles and _Jesus,_ Gaila was lucky. She was rooming with Uhura, of all people. Or Nyota, if you preferred. One of the first thing Addy had done when she'd gotten settled in school was to hack the student files and find out the linguist's first name.

"Hey," Gaila chirped sounding too chipper and forced.

'_Because someone majoring in the study of languages will _never_ notice that,'_ Addy said dryly to herself. Funny thing was, however, Uhura _didn't_ notice. She seemed lost in thought as she pulled off her boots and stepped out of her clothes, letting them fall to the floor. Addy felt her heart speed up, and grinned lasciviously and Nyota's modest but flattering off-white undergarments.

"I thought you were gonna be at the lab all night," Gaila hedged. Nyota sat on her bed, deep in her own mind.

"I was supposed to be. It was crazy, I picked up a transmission prison planet. There was an escape and a stolen ship th–" Nyota cut off, tensing, her hands frozen behind her in the process of unhooking her bra.

'_Oh sweet baby Jesus, yes!'_ Addy thought hotly, eyes glued to other woman's chest.

"Is everything okay, Gaila? You seem a little tense," Uhura asked carefully. Addy listened with interest, but mostly was too focused on trying to burn holes through Nyota's bra to pay attention to the red flags that should have gone up at that.

"Yeah, uh huh, yep. I've been running simulations all week, just catching up on some rest. M'tired," Gaila covered, over-dramatizing a yawn. She watched in regret as Uhura dropped her hands and crossed her arms and legs. So close…

"Were you running simulations with the mouth-breather hiding under the bed?" It took a beat for Addy to realize that comment had been made in reference to her, and that instead of being sneaky and looking on in secret, the dark-skinned woman was staring right into her iridescent blue eyes. Without and ounce of shame, she crawled out from her hiding spot, tossing Gaila's pink thong at Uhura. The linguist caught it out of reflex but dropped it in disgust when she saw what it was, and Addy smirked.

"Your hearing is _scary_," she stated, Gaila now hiding her head behind her hands. "You sure both your parents are human?"

"The hell is _she_ doing here?" Uhura asked venomously, jabbing a finger in Addy's face. Addy gently sucked the tip into her mouth, nibbling on the skin ever so, and Uhura shrieked and yanked her hand back.

"I can't help it! I love her!" Gaila cried. Addy smiled.

"There. See? She loves me." Uhura glared at the pair of them.

"Get out of here! It's my ass too if an administrator catches you fucking a program simulator in _my room_ the _day before_ your third failure." Addy flinched at the insinuation she was using Gaila to get an up on the test, because she was essentially, just not the way Uhura was implying, and she hated herself a bit for it. Gaila was a good girl, sweet, if a little slow on the uptake, and she took no pleasure in the necessity of using that kindness, but she didn't have any other choices, short of breaking in to the lab before her test. Adelaide fixed her uniform and undershirt so that the sharp linguist wouldn't see the shame in her eyes.

"So you're excited for the big day tomorrow? I knew you'd wanna be there," she asked, her voice light and carefree. The people who performed the test with her were randomly chosen for the most part, but students could volunteer for the test, and lots of people asked their closest friends to do it with them so that they weren't alone when they ultimately failed. Uhura wouldn't be there for moral support, though; the woman had a hell of a competitive streak in her blood. Addy could respect that. She was just as bad about stepping up to a challenge.

"You're gonna fail," Uhura said flatly, starting to usher the blonde woman out the door. She caught a flash of green as Gaila waved goodbye.

"Aw, don't you believe in me?" Addy asked sweetly. Uhura's face soured as she shoved the taller woman through the door. She turned around with an innocent smile on her face and leaned against the wall, enjoying herself far too much to let Nyota leave just yet.

"No!" Uhura snapped. "Good night!"

"You know, I think the transmission of a Klingon escape that you picked up is very–" the door cut her off with a hiss as it shut on electrical motors, "interesting."

Addy chuckled. Uhura was almost as fun to rile up as Bones. She didn't blush as much to her flirtations as her medical friend, but her annoyance and angry expressions were just as amusing, if a little disheartening. She'd had the impression from that first meeting that Nyota was interested in being her friend if nothing else, but apparently… not. Ah, well. Things came and went. There was an ebb and flow to all aspect of life, including people, and it had long since stopped bothering Adelaide. Bones was the only exception so far. It was strange. She kept expecting him to come to his senses and leave on day, but was happy to be continually disappointed in that regard.

Shaking her head, Addy turned away from Gail's room, walking towards her on, seven up and across the hall. Her own roommate, a woman from Australia with black hair and gray eyes named Victoria, was out at a party. Probably wouldn't be back tonight, which was just the same to her. Victoria was annoying and very distracting, and Addy's nerves needed the quiet before tomorrow morning. Addy resigned herself to a long night of old musicals and sexual frustration (who knew Uhura was such a cock-block?) until she was tired enough to pass out.

* * *

"We are receiving a distress signal from the _U.S.S Kobayashi Maru_," Uhura droned, sounding both bored and resentful, which was stupid, because she _chose_ to be here. "Starfleet command has ordered us to rescue them.

'_Three minutes.'_

Those were the opening words that every cadet dreaded. The signal of the start of the impossible test. The one test no one could pass. But this time, Addy welcome them. They were a challenge, and jab at her ingenuity, and this time, she would be sure to deliver.

She swiveled her command chair away from the communications unit behind her, a cocky grin on her face, to look at the viewscreens. The classic sight of the stranded ship and Klingon warships danced across three monitors in imitation of the real thing. She'd been up there already, though, and this… well this sorry excuse for graphics just didn't compare.

"'Starfleet command has ordered us to rescue them… _Captain_.'" Addy said. Uhura turned back to her station with a scowl, shaking her head and muttering. Addy smiled to herself. Really, the linguist just made this too easy sometimes.

An alarm blared annoyingly loud as Bones rolled his eyes at her blasé attitude. His role this time was monitoring incoming activity and scans of the Klingon enemy ships. A far cry from his desire role in the medbay, but she was thankful he's come through on his promise.

"Two Klingon vessels have entered the Neutral Zone an' are lockin' weapons on us," he informed her.

'_Two minutes.'_

"That's okay," she assured him pleasantly. It did not escape her attention how Bones didn't call her Captain either, and from the hissing noise behind her, it didn't escape Uhura how she didn't correct _him_ on the matter. Oh, this was just too much fun.

"That's _okay_?" Bones turned to look at her, incredulous. She gave him a thumbs up and pulled out an apple she'd brought in to the simulation with her.

Victory always made her hungry.

"Yeah, don't stress it, I got this, Bones," she assured him. He gave her a long look before finally turning back to his console. She was really gonna get it from him later, she could tell. Addy's eyes trailed up the ceiling amidst all the pretend activity and imagined readings until she was looking right at two examiners, standing raised above the model bridge of a Starship. Their eyes watched her every moment and command, appraising her reactions and responses to her crew. She smiled tightly at them. She would show them what happened to people who wanted to play God.

"Three more Klingon warbirds decloakin' an' targetin' out ship," Bone announced, leveling Adelaide with a flat look when her attention was on him again, "but I don' s'pose this a problem, either?" Addy bit into her apple.

'_60 seconds.'_

"They're firing, Captain," a man off to her right declared.

'_Finally,'_ she thought, _'a little show of respect from my crew!'_

"Alert medical bay," kirk threw over her shoulder to Uhura, still chewing on her mouthful of fruit, "to receive _all_ crew members from the damaged ship."

"And how do you expect us to rescue them when we're surrounded by Klingons, _Captain?_" Uhura spat. Addy was actually impressed with the woman. She'd never heard anyone say the title and have it sound so derogatory before. She turned her chair around to look at the angry comms chief, smiling as Uhura crossed her arms.

'_15 seconds.'_

"Alert medical," she ordered, her voice tight before turning back dismissively.

"Our ship's bein' hit," poor Bones sounded most unamused as Addy swallowed her bite. She would have to change this. "Shields at 60 percent."

'_10 seconds.'_

Addy bit off another large piece of the juicy fruit, wiping away what dripped down her mouth.

"I understand," she said, mimicking his tone. She giggled internally when she saw his shoulders stiffen.

"Should at least, _I_ dunno," he turned around completely, scowling at her, "fire back?"

'_5 seconds. C'mon Gaila, you better pull through.'_

"Nah." Bones scoffed and turned away from her.

"Uh 'course not…" he grumped.

'_3…_

_2…_

_1…'_

The alarm suddenly cut out as the lights in the simulation room flickered, and the projections on all the screens fizzled like static. Her "crew" slowed down, unsure of what to do while her subroutine program infected the administrators' computer and changed the limits of the _Maru_ simulation. Addy softly let out a breath of relief.

'_That's my girl!'_

Addy waited patiently while her cheat did it's work, almost laughing when she peeked up to the observation room, the examiners talking frantically to people behind them. Eventually, the flickering stopped and the screens restored, and that stupid fucking alarm came back full force. Bones had his hands in the air and was very carefully not touching anything, looking like he thought the console would blow up in his face. She glanced around the room, entirely too pleased with herself.

"The _Kobayashi Maru_ is still in distress but… the Klingon warbirds have stopped firing," Uhura called out sounding perplexed. Addy swallowed her bite and bit into the apple, forgiving the poor girl her lack of respect for her place in this test. If she was Uhura right now, Addy's awesome level would have made _her_ forgetful, too.

"Arm protons she ordered, "and prepare to fire on all Klingon warbirds."

"Yes ma'am!" her weapons tech responded.

"Addy," Bones admonished, "their shields are still up."

'_HA. Lies.'_

"Are they?" He turned back to his monitor and pressed a few buttons for a shield scan and slumped back in his seat.

"No," he mumbled, also sounding confused. "They're not."

"Well then," Addy turned back to her weapons tech, "fire on all enemy ships. On photon each should do, let's not waste ammunition." The tech grinned, arming their weapons. He was probably excited to be a part of the only successful completion of the _Maru_ test. She nibbled more on her apple.

Rightfully so.

"Aye, Captain! Target locked and acquired on all warbirds. Firing!" Activity on the makeshift bridge came to a halt as the other students stopped to watch with bated breath. Addy grinned, completely self-satisfied as all Klingon ships blew up on the screen in a grand show up fire and flying scrap metal. She pointed her finger at the screen like a gun and made crude explosion sounds, giggling when all the ships finally disappeared, leaving behind on the stranded _Maru_. And, thanks to her subroutine, there wouldn't be any more surprises that killed her at the last moment.

"All ships destroyed, ma'am!" the tech beamed.

'_To victory!'_

"Begin rescue of the stranded crew." And with that, they finished. Finit. Done. The end. But just because Addy had to brag a _little_…

"So!" she leapt from her chair, twirling around like she was floating on air, captivating everybody in the room. "We've managed to eliminate all enemy ships, no one on board was injured, and the rescue of the _Kobayashi Maru_ is underway." She bit off the biggest bite of her apple that she could fit in her mouth, grinning like a madman as she turned full circle to stare up at the admins gaping down at her. Uhura was rubbing her temple like she had a headache, and Bones was watching her closely with a raised eyebrow. She quickly chewed and swallowed her bite, cocking her head at the professors.

"Anything else?" she taunted.

One admin turned to say something to someone behind him, and Adelaide blinked as a tall man walked up to the glass, his hands clasped neatly behind him. _Too_ tall. Human men almost never got that tall. He was easily pushing 6'7". He had jet black hair, pointed eyebrows, and a subtle green tint to her skin. Addy swallowed hard, her stomach dropping in dread. This man was a Vulcan, and he was wearing the black garb of a professor.

_And he was staring right at her._

'_Well shit me, I'm fucked,'_ she moaned.

She hadn't considered a fucking _Vulcan_ being here. Addy hadn't created the cheat code to be that deceptive and hide from an alien race that built their entire way of life on logic and reason and had super brains crammed into their skulls. They were a different breed of intelligent entirely (no pun intended), and her subroutine was going to be found out within minutes of her walking out of that door. Which meant trouble a lot sooner than she'd thought.

Balls.

Addy jumped, tearing her eyes away from the alien's penetrating brown as Bones slapped her upside the head. She glared hard at him, bringing her free hand up to rub the sore spot.

"Ow! Bones, what the hell!?" He just huffed and dragged her out the exit with the others, pulling here away from their congratulations and questions. Addy threw her apple in a trashcan as they walked by it, very suddenly no longer hungry. Bones didn't stop (she had trouble keeping up with his longer legs) until they'd left the building and rounded the corner, where he let go of her arm quite suddenly, making her stumble and almost fall.

"What did ya do?" he whirled on her. Addy jumped.

"What are you–"

"No," he barked, "ya tell me what the hell that was n'there!" She brought her right hand up, rubbing at her earlobe.

"It was the _Kobayashi Maru_ simulation, Bones," she answered heavily. He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"The hell that was! I don' know what ya did, but the was _not_ the test ya've taken twice, or that any've _us_'_ve_ taken, neither! So what didja do?" She shifted away from him and bit her lip, looking down at the grass. His hazel eyes blazed with anger, and it was making her edgy. She contemplated lying, but Bones was already onto her, and he'd find out soon anyway with that damn Vulcan sniffing around the place. Besides, he was her best friend; her _only_ friend, really. He deserved Addy's honesty.

"I cheated," she admitted softly. Bones sighed impatiently.

"Obviously. I saw it happen, I was there, 'member? I mean how didja cheat?" Addy tugged harder on her ear, refusing to look in his eyes. She just knew they'd be filled with disappointment, and she didn't want to see that from him. Never from Bones.

"I built a subroutine program that changed the parameters," she mumbled, defeated. Bones swore profusely next to her.

"Are ya outta yer goddamned mind!?" he yelled, the southern twang heavier with his distress. "Why would ya do somethin' so… so…."

"Clever?" she supplied hopefully.

"Irresponsible!" She dropped her hand, having had just about enough of his accusatory tone.

"They cheated first, Bones! They wrote that stupid game so that no one could win it!" He closed his eyes and passed a hand over his features, then looked at her imploringly.

"A game? Darlin' is there _anythin'_ ya take seriously?" Addy crossed her arms defensively, stung at his assumption. He'd seen her study ethic for the last three years, up close and personal, and he knew how hard she worked her ass off for her grades. She thought he knew better than anybody how serious she took Starfleet, though he knew how much of a farce her don't-give-two-shits attitude was. Guess she was wrong.

"Yes," she snapped, "there is. But I will not take a test seriously when it's set up to make me fail. I don't believe in no-win scenarios." Bones opened his mouth to lash back just as harshly, but forcibly shut it and frowned instead. She raised her chin defiantly.

"They're gon' have yer hide for this, Adelaide. Ya know that, right?" Addy's face fell a little at the reminder, and she looked away from him, watching the student body milling about. She thought back to the Vulcan. For someone from a race that claimed to be devoid of emotions, he'd looked very displeased. His lips had been pursed, and his overall expression seemed on the more intense side, but Vulcan's eyebrows angled together more than a human's, and they always looked that way to her. She sighed. She would not regret her decision.

"If that's what it comes down to," she said softly. Bones searched her face in silence before giving up and shaking his head.

"What do I do with ya, Missy miss?" he mumbled. Addy allowed herself a small smile at his favorite pet name for her. It had annoyed her at first, and she suspected that's why it was his favorite, but she'd grown to accept it and realized Bones only used it when he was trying to be affectionate.

"Love me like you always have?" she suggested. He snorted.

"Like I love a thorn in mah shoe," he snarked. Addy stuck her tongue out at him and spun away, heading towards the academy commons.

"You just love me for my body," she threw over at him seductively. She didn't have to look to know his floundering noises meant his face was pink. She smirked and exaggerated the natural sway of her hips, knowing his eyes would wander. She giggled as her communicator beeped with a message, Bones spluttering furiously behind her. She flipped open her device in one fluid motion, promptly dropping her smile when she read the message.

**REPORT TO THE GOLDEN GATE AUDITORIUM FOR MANDATORY HEARING – 0845**

**ADMIRAL NIEL S. QUIMBY**

**PRESIDENT OF STARFLEET TRAINING ACADEMY.**

Addy gulped as she heard Bones' comm beep, presumably with the same message. Her smile returned (though this time entirely forced) as he walked up beside her, his eyes reading the summons and then looking down at her grimly.

"Adelaide…" he started.

"Well, I do believe the missus called," she chirped, bouncing ahead of his pitying look. She didn't need his pity. She'd done the right thing, consequences be damned. She continued on ahead of him, humming a happy tune even as she shivered on the inside. When Bones caught up with her, neither of them said a word as they marched across campus to make it in time. At the entrance doors, Addy took a deep breath and stepped through the clear glass, dozens of other red uniforms filling in front of her, greeting her classmates and peers as they recognized her sharp blonde curls, all the while feeling like she was walking to her execution.

* * *

**I know, I know, y'all wanted me to get right in to the trial and everything in this chapter, but nope! You gotta wait just a mo longer for that one. The chapter would have been endlessly long otherwise.**

**You like what you read? Keep more coming by keeping our lovely writer inspired with reviews on her writing!**

**Peace.**


	5. Truth or Consequence

**Hello, loves!**

**Here is the next chapter. Longest one, yet, I do believe. I hope you guys like it, I am pleased with how it turned out overall, though I feel like the ending could be a bit stronger. Maybe I'll come back and edit it later.**

**Lemme know whatcha think with a review, yeah?**

**Kisses!**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

The crowd, Addy noted nervously, was much larger than she'd expected. It consisted of her entire graduating class, many teachers, and everyone that had been with her on this last test. That explained why Bones and Uhura were here. Their focuses were different than hers, yes, but most of the degrees were condensed in to four years (it was only the outlandish and acutely specific ones that took longer). Seeing as she had done hers in three, she was technically their senior, regardless of age. They didn't belong with the rest of the crowd, and their only excuse to be here was their participation with her this morning. This made Addy more relieved she'd begged Bones to be there with her.

Addy sat with her hands sweating as her peers talked in hushed tones around her, trying to figure out why the board had called together a hearing so suddenly. The entire board of admirals entered at the bottom, their uniforms crisp and charcoal gray. The crowd rose silenced immediately and rose respectfully to their feet while the elders found their seats. When all of the academy officials were seated at the large crescent table down below the crowd, the sea of red and black sat back in the uncomfortable wooden seats without a word. Over millions of years and the discovery of aliens and new technology, one would think humans would be able to come up with a more ergonomic chair for auditoriums.

"Adelaide P. Kirk," the academy president's voice called out, carrying all the way up to the balcony where curious bystanders, professors, or seniors without a seat stood watching the encounter. "Step forward."

Addy stiffened as she felt over 500 pairs of eyes swivel to her unruly blonde hair and zeroing in on her. Bones pat her hand awkwardly as she slowly rose from her seat and smoothed out the red uniform jacket that went over her dress. A flash of green below caught her attention, and Addy's face flushed to find Gaila seething up at her. She quickly looked away from the Orion girl, battling back the sudden guilt.

Calmly, and with her head held high, Addy stepped over the pairs of feet and out into the aisle of stairs that separated the crowd down the middle. She followed it down to the bottom, the weight of everyone's gaze burning on her skin. She stepped up to one of the two podiums, gently clasping her hands together on the cool dark-skinned cherry wood. She blink at the Admiral Quimby himself, refusing to drop her gaze from his stern face.

His skin was dark. Darker than Uhura's, and his eyes were black. A little on the heavy side, Addy didn't think much of the man. He was too rigid, and he was a bit of a stickler for the rules Seeing as how Addy saw rules more like helpful suggestions or (more often) as challenges, this made her relationship wit him… strained. Movement to Quimby's right caught her eye, and she was ashamed to see Pike sitting up there wearing his own admiral's suit, looking disappointed.

"Cadet Kirk," Quimby started roughly, "an incident has occurred this morning that concerns the entire student body. Academic immorality by one is an assault on us all, and it will _not_ stand." Addy physically bit her lip to keep from asking why _they_ weren't standing right next to her then if 'academic immorality" was such a big no-no. After all, they were the ones who started all of this by telling her to take a test they had known she would never pass using conventional methods.

"Evidence has been submitted to this council suggesting you violated the ethical code of conduct pursuant to regulation 17.43 of the Starfleet code. Is there anything you'd like to say before we being?" She snorted under her breath.

'_Yeah. Suck my dick.'_

"I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly, sir?" she asked coolly. Quimby nodded and looked over her shoulder. Addy followed his gaze as (surprise surprise!) the Vulcan man from earlier stood to his feet. With a now from the admiral, the tall man walked down the steps to stand at the other podium impassively, his hands clasped neatly behind his back. Now that he was closer, Addy could see his features a lot better and hot _damn_ this guy had everything right going for him, but she stubbornly ignored it. Definitely not the time or place.

"This is Commander Spock," Quimby informed her, "one of our most distinguished graduates. He's programmed the _Kobayashi Maru_ test for the last four years." Neither Spock nor Adelaide were paying the pompous man much attention in their examination of each other, but something at the back of her mind acknowledged what Quimby said with a roll of her eyes. Of course this Vulcan had been the one to personally program the damn thing. But then she got smug when she realized she'd undermined a program a god damn _Vulcan_ had programmed with their own super mind.

His hair was black like oil with a slight blue sheen to it, sucking up the light around him, and cut in the customary bowl shape of his culture. His features were striking, with a strong jaw, full mouth, sharp nose, and defined brow. But what stuck out the most to her were his eyes. They were the color of melted chocolate, and shone with intelligence, to be sure… but they were _human_ eyes. The color was dark, as per usual of any Vulcan, but they were several shades lighter than she'd seen on any other Vulcan, and they were slightly more rounded than a Vulcan's. And despite the bland expression on his face, she could easily see his annoyance and interest in her buried deep behind his mask. They were as expressive as hers or Bones' eyes. His broad shoulders were thrust back, his tall, (deliciously) muscular frame rigid with perfect posture. His uniform was black, like his hair, and cleanly pressed. Everything about him was precision and control. His face betrayed nothing, but Addy knew he was assessing her. She straightened.

'_Eat your heart out, hot shot,'_ she thought.

She knew she looked good. If she didn't she wouldn't be able to get sex so easily whenever the mood struck her. Eyes followed her when she walked down halls. Men and women alike flirted easily with her, and she was constantly asked out on dates. She _knew _she looked good. She just didn't know if she'd look as good to this Vulcan as he looked to her, and she was surprised at how much she hoped he would like what he saw.

"Commander?" Quimby prompted. Spock and Addy both blinked, one in surprise, the other in… something? It was too hard to tell with Spock's face so carefully neutral. He nodded to the row of admirals before turning his whole body towards Addy and fixing her with his undivided attention. She raised her chin in a silent challenge.

"Cadet Kirk, it is obvious you somehow managed to install and activate a subroutine in the programming code, thereby changing the conditions of the test to better manipulate your desired outcome." Dear God, was it _legal_ for people to have a voice like that? Yeah, his manner of speaking was a little archaic and full of a lot of unnecessarily long words, but Jesus fuck, _that bass_. It was all deep and commanding and sexy and _sweetbabyJesusyeswhateveryouwant._ Addy kept herself contained, only showing her internal problems with a slight twitch of her lips. _Not_ the time or place.

"Your point being?" she answered smoothly, keeping her tone light and bored. Quimby pursed his lips at her, irritated.

"In academic vernacular, you cheated," he said harshly. The crowd behind her bubbled with a swell of soft chatter. Her ears burned as she caught snippets of their gossip.

"_-can't believe her."_

"_I knew it!"_

"…_always thought…"_

"…_just knew she didn't earn those grades!"_

She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at the admirals before her. Fine. That's how they wanted to play? She was game. Bring it on.

"Respectfully," she said with a tone that was obviously anything but respectful, "define 'cheating.'"

"To deceive by trickery," Spock answered immediately.

"Exactly. Now let me ask something I think we all know the answer to: the test is rigged, isn't it? You created it to be unwinnable." Spock carefully considered her words for a moment before blinking at her. Dear Lord, did his face always stay that way?

"I fail to see how the intent of the exam is relevant to these proceedings, Cadet," he replied.

'_Bit like a computer, aren'tcha?'_

"Because if I'm right, Sir, then the test, by your own definition is a cheat." The implication that they were the real ones to blame was heard, though unsaid, and Spock's eyes gleamed as he finally caught up to her side of the argument. He inclined his head her way.

"Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario." Adelaide narrowed her eyes at the Vulcan. Was that mockery she'd heard buried underneath all that monotony?

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios," she said flatly.

"Then not only have you violated the rules, you also failed to understand the principle lesson." She raised an eyebrow at him, starting to getting annoyed. Did he really always have to speak like that?

"Please, enlighten me." Spock landed a hard look at her.

"You of all people should know, Cadet Krik – a Captain cannot cheat death." Adelaide tensed and froze. Full-blown anger now sitting low in her stomach.

He did _not_ just fucking go there.

"'I of all people'?" Her voice was quiet and cold, all pretenses of civility and grace discarded.

"Your father, Lieutenant George Kirk, had assumed command of his vessel before he was killed in action, did he not?" Addy looked down at her podium, silently fuming, and grinding her teeth together until her teeth her. How _dare_ these people use her father to make her feel guilt. This was their retribution, then, was it? Trying to publicly humiliate her by besmirching a great man of history? Even for Admiral Quimby, that was low. Addy instantly decided if she never the Vulcan again after today, it would be too soon.

"How long did it take you to look up that?" she snapped, refusing to look at his bland, stupidly handsome face.

"How long did it take you to program the virus that allowed you to cheat?" he countered. Addy smiled down at her hands.

'_Oh it just _burns_ you that I, a silly little human, undermined your stupid test, doesn't it?'_

"Maybe you just don't like that I beat your test," she taunted, smirking up at him. Spock's face remained impassive, but she caught a miniscule muscle twitch by his eye.

"I am Vulcan. 'Like' is not a term in our vernacular. I have simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar." Addy blinked, caught off-guard by the bluntness of that statement. Damn. Not one for tact, this one.

"Well what an idiot I'd be for taking _that_ personally," she mumbled. He nodded once, as if she'd finally caught on to something.

"Agreed," _Whoa, wait, what!?_ "Furthermore, you have failed to divine the purpose of the test."

Seething, Adelaide turned away from him again to glare through the wall of windows behind all the admirals. Who did this bastard think he was? Rank or not, he was a fucking self-righteous jerk off that had just called her an idiot. No one had ever called her an idiot before in her life. Sure, there had been some rather colorful remarks about her attitudes, and rude jabs at the state of her genitalia, but never had her intelligence been put into question. This asshole was just asking for a punch to the balls. She'd gone after people for a lot less than he was dishing out right now.

Did Vulcans even have balls?

"Enlighten me again," she growled. Spock looked back to the council, sounding every bit like the walking textbook his brain appeared to be.

"The purpose is to experience fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear and maintain command of one's self and one's crew. This is a quality expected in every Starfleet Captain." Addy really listened to what he had to say, despite how much she wanted to tune him out on principle, and absorbed it, chewed on it, and accepted it as sound. It was a good quality to demand of someone who engineered the lives of hundreds of people out in deep space where help could be several thousand lightyears away. That fear would help keep a person cautious and their crew alive. But what these people didn't know was that she _had _been afraid. After that first failure, she'd been terrified that this meant she had poor leadership, that it was something wrong with _her_, and that every time Frank had told her she would fail he'd spoken the truth. Then when she figured out it was because the program wouldn't _let_ her win, well… could she be blamed by her righteous indignation? According to the robot, yes. Which reminded her of something…

Stubbornly ignoring the warning in Pike's eyes when she glanced his way, Addy put on an innocent smile and looked back at the unfeeling Vulcan. She could play this game of shadows and under-the-table punches just as well as him. He shouldn't underestimate her just because she was a Terran.

"So you're telling me the point," she started slowly, "of the whole thing, is to be afraid?"

"Fear is necessary, yes."

'_Gotcha.'_

"Have _you_ taken the test, Commander Spork?" He blinked once before answering, presumably to ascertain her purpose for the question. Addy kept her face angelic. So maybe she'd been a bit childish with the mispronunciation of his name. This douchecake had practically asked for it.

"Spock," he corrected calmly. Addy barely contained another snort. "As a Vulcan, I require no additional training to control my narcissism when making command decisions."

Her anger intensified, and all she wanted to do was punch his face bloody, but she kept a tight leash on herself.

"And I'm sure you're really proud of that, who wouldn't be? But isn't it true your people don't experience fear at all?" By now the crowd was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. Nobody moved, nobody dared to breathe as they all watched the battle of wits with bated breath. This wasn't merely a trial about Kirk's 'academic immorality' anymore; this was a personal fight for Addy to prove to everyone she could hold her own.

"Isn't it true," she continued, "that your people have purged emotions completely? If _that's_ the case, what's that say about _your_ ability to make command decisions?"

'_Boom. Suck on _that_ one, pointy.'_

Addy could almost swim in the self-satisfaction. Spock started at her and ooooh, were his eyes narrowed? Dear gods, was that a fraction of an emotion on his face? Awww… she hadn't heard his feelings, had she?

Tough.

Spock opened his mouth, and Adelaide braced herself for his next jab when the president's personal PADD beeped alarmingly. Many people, including Addy and Quimby jumped at the sudden interruption as he picked up his electronic see-through screen and read over the message quickly, his face falling with dread. Everyone waited, the spat from a moment ago all but forgotten.

Finally, quietly, "We've received a distress call from Vulcan. Spock snapped his sharp eyes up to the president's face, looking like he'd just been punched in the gut. Addy's anger dimmer and her heart went out to the man, because it stood to reason his parents were there, and she knew what that loss was like, and she hoped no one else ever would. No matter how much of a frustrating asshole they'd been.

"Cadet Kirk," she looked away from Spock and up at the academy president, "you are on academic probation pending the results of your hearing. Cadets, report to Shuttle Hangar One immediately. This hearing is at recess until further notice. Dismissed!" Instantly, the crowd was on their feet, a sudden swell of worried chatter telling Addy how suddenly irrelevant she was, in every sense of the word. Academic probation. She'd read the handbook, she knew what that meant: she was essentially inactive duty until they decided what to do with her and what her punishment would be. Which meant no ship. Which meant no outer space. Her only hope was that with the threat to Vulcan and their reduced numbers with most of the 'fleet being in the Laurentian system, they would overlook it for the extra manpower.

It was her one chance.

Addy blinked out of her thoughts when she realized Pike was standing in front of her, frowning. Her heart fell. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he beat her to the punch.

"Cheating isn't winning." She snapped her mouth shut, refusing to touch the flush of shame. She was _not_ ashamed of her actions. Pike gave her one last hard stare before he walked past her and disappeared into the throng of activity. She was still biting her tongue and glaring at the spot Pike he occupied when Bones sidled up next to her. She looked up into his hazel eyes, dancing with laughter, cocking her head in a question. What did he find so funny?

"I dunno who that pointy-eared bastard was, but I like him." Addy punched his shoulder and stormed off.

Bones was such an asshole sometimes.

* * *

Adelaide stood at attention with Bones and many of her fellow students as the male and female barracks leaders called out names and their respective assigned ships. Bones got the _Enterprise_, lucky douchewad. Gaila, the _Farragut_ with Uhura, but judging the expression on the latter's face, this was not good news. At least Uhura got an assignment. Addy was stuck standing there, crestfallen, and hoping against hope that her superior had simply forgotten her name.

'_Of course she didn't. Not one wants a brat like you.'_

Nervously, she moved through the crowd when the assignments were given and the crowd dispersed and rushed off to their shuttles (or in Uhura's case, stormed). She chased after her barracks leader, knowing Bones followed after without have to look. Officer Ruiz slowed as she walked up to a shuttle's docking station, checking the specs on the dock monitor against something on her PADD.

"Excused me, ma'am? I think you forgot my name. Kirk, Adelaide P." The older – and considerably shorter – woman looked at Addy out of the corner of her eye before looking down at her PADD and resuming her pre-flight check.

"Nope. You're on academic suspension, Kirk," _no… nonononono,_ "and you're grounded until the council has reached a decision." Tears welled unbidden in her blue eyes, making them shine like glass. Addy blinked furiously to get rid of the gathering moisture. How could this be happening to her?

Ruiz walked away, barking at some unsuspecting cadets loitering around and laughing while Bones gently squeezed her shoulder. His kindness, for once, made her irrationally angry in her jealous of him and the ship he had. The _Enterprise_ was the newest ship in the whole fleet, and Addy has this gut feeling it was the one from Riverside. Ones was getting on _her_ ship and letting it fly away without her, and a part of her hated him in that moment for the opportunity he was getting. Of course, her flash of envy passed and she berated herself for her unfair feelings towards her best friend. It's not like he was lording it over her, and he'd had no idea that he would get the _Enterprise_.

"Kid, the board'll rule in yer favor. Most likely." Bones' voice was stiff and awkward, but all she could do was stand there, rocked. She'd tried to do the right thing and show everyone how the rules were unfair and brainwashing them to stupidity; they were choking the creativity out of them all. This was the thanks she got?

"Look, Darlin', I gotta go." Addy blinked, coming back to her body and remembering how she had to see Bones off. Plastering on a smile she turned around to do her duty as his friend.

"Yeah. I know, you go," she told him. He hesitated, looking over her face carefully, before nodding and turning to find his shuttle. Her smile slowly slipped from her lips and she had a thought. What if this was the last time she saw Bones? What if something happened and he never came back? Oh God, what if he died? He was the only person she'd ever opened up to and felt comfortable enough telling everything to, and he'd taken it all in stride. He hadn't turned here away or scorned her for her hardships. He'd accepted everything, demons and ego together, and kept on at it. He was always on her side, always looking out for her. It was the reason she loved him so much and would die for him without a second. Her loyalty to her medical friend was unwavering and absolute. But… what if…

"Hey!" she called out. Bones stopped and looked back at her, his brow furrowed at the shrill not of panic he'd heard. Addy rushed forward, knowing she was keeping him, using time he couldn't spend, but she didn't care. She stood in front of him, hands on his shoulders and bit her lip, looking up into his concerned eyes.

"Be safe," she said mutely, "and come home." She stood up on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek in a light kiss of good luck. When she pulled away, his face was softer, the ghost of a smile on his lips. She squeezed his shoulders before dropping her arms and walking away. Her pace was slow, at odds with the rushed feeling of alarm. People bumped into her with heavy crates with no apologies, eager to prepare the shuttles for departure and load supplied destined for the Starships docked above the earth. But no one paid any mind to her. She was just another rock in the sea.

"Come with me," a voice suddenly breathed near her ear as Bones looped his arm through hers, dragging her away. She peered up at him, confounded.

"What're you doing?" He half-carried, half-dragged her in silence through the throng of red and black in his haste, saying nothing until they reached a room with different liquids and a biobed. Slightly annoyed, Addy jerked her arm out of his grasp as her marched over to a cabinet of brightly color fluids. He rifled through them, and she took a cautious seat on the biobed, waiting patiently for him to explain what was going on. He decided on a small vial of an orange fluid, jamming it into a hypospray he seemingly pulled from nowhere, and fixed her with a pointed stare. She paled, slowly inching away from him on the stiff bed beneath her. She _hated_ hypos. She _hated_ drugs, and she fucking _hated_ what they did to her body. She couldn't stand the feeling of not being in control of her mind.

"Oh no," she said, "what is that? You keep that fucking thing away from me, Bones!" He rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Missy miss, m'doin' a favor to ya, and riskin' my hide to do it, I might add. Couldn' let ya alone, all pathetic," she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Look, it's a vaccine against viral infection against Melvaran mud fleas."

"What for?"

"To give ya the symptoms." Addy crossed her arms, eyes glued to the silver devil device in his hands.

"And how exactly does that get –"

"Do ya wanna be on the _Enterprise_ or not?" he snapped. Addy bit her lip, and decided (against every instinct screaming at her to run) to let him drug her with… whatever the hell he said that was.

With no warning, he jabbed the needle into her neck and with a hiss, the bright orange fluid disappeared into her veins. Stung like a bitch to have medicine injected that fast and forcefully, and Adelaide yelped in pain, rubbing at the sore skin. Bones was already across the room, rifling through another cabinet and stuffing some things from a leather satchel he'd pilfered off a desk. She didn't start to really panic until her left eye felt cold and stopped working. The world looked slightly more flat, and her field of vision decreased with her now impaired vision. She squeaked in surprised, breathing heavily as the vaccine worked its way through her system. Was this room getting hotter?

"Yer gonna start to lose vision in yer left eye," Bones informed her. She had half a mind to punch him later. Bastard sounded way too damn amused. She winced as she tried to stand up from the biobed, her legs shaking with the sudden weight. Her head felt like it was floating away and imploding at the same time, and Jesus, what the fuck had he done!?

"No, don't try to stand!" Bone warned her too late. Her legs crumpled under her, and she fell to the floor with a hard thump. Addy was _definitely_ going to punch him for this.

Bones grabbed her elbow and hauled her to her feet with a put-upon huff. She would've shaken him off, but since he was the only thing keeping her up, that would have been most unwise. She opted to roll her limp back as sweat (when did she start sweating!?) dripped painfully into her eyes, and glare balefully up at his face.

"Yer also gonna get a bad headache and a flopsweat," he said almost as an afterthought.

'_Never letting your devil tools near me again!'_ she vowed to herself.

"You call this a _favor!?_" she shrieked. He gave her a shit-eating grin and squeezed her elbow.

"Yeah. Ya owe me one," he laughed as he pulled her towards the door. She wanted to follow after him, she really did, but she couldn't make her legs work, and her brain pounded every time she tried to focus on getting her feet flat on the ground. Damn him, was this revenge for making him a part of her chest this morning?

"Bones," she whined, "I can't move my feet." He quirked a curious eyebrow at her.

"Well that's… unusual. C'mon, I'll carry ya." Oh, she was going to _kill_ him for this.

He picked her up effortlessly and strode out of the seclusion of the med room and back to the hustle and bustle of their peers. The sudden assault of noise and smells made her head throb painfully, and she hid her face in Bones' neck, even as she plotted her revenge. _Why_ did he have to _carry_ her? The gentle sway as he walked felt nice, though, and if she concentrated only on that, she could almost ignore the pounding in her head and doze. Just as soon as she got used to the rhythmic motion, it stopped. She made a noise of distress and Bones softly patted the skin on her knee where he supported her weight.

"'Kirk, Adelaide P.' She's not cleared for duty aboard the _Enterprise_," a man's bored voice droned next to her. Addy could almost hear Bones' eyes rolling.

"But _I_ am, and Medical Code states the treatment and transport this patient is to be determined at the discretion of her primary attending physician, which is also me." There was a pause. Addy tried to shove her face deeper into the shadows. Her head felt like it was peeling like a sunburn, every nerve exposed to the open air and commotion around her.

"You can see she's suffering. She needs me as her doctor, so since I'm assigned to the _Enterprise_, so is she. Or would you like to explain to Captain Pike why his ship warped into a crisis without one of its senior medical officers?"

Another pause.

"As you were," the man said grudgingly. Bones scoffed and shouldered past the man.

"As _you_ were," he retorted. When he set Addy down in one of the shuttle seats, she closed her eyes and did her best to ignore the sound of it roaring to life. He helped her buckle up and took the window seat and wiped a hand over his weary face. Everybody was staring at her curiously, wondering what Kirk was doing in the shuttle with them, and why she looked ready to hurl. Not long after, the craft lifted into the air and fled the hangar with the other, leaving the big warehouse suddenly very empty. The ride was long and bumpy, especially when they were breaking through the atmosphere. It jostled Addy's head and stomach in an unpleasant way, and she thought she might seconds away puking. She decided with glee that if she did, she'd make sure it landed right in her "best friend's" lap.

"I might throw up on you," she warned fairly, but Bones wasn't paying her any attention. He was gaping out the window, enraptured.

"Adelaide, ya gotta take a look at this, he breathed, awestruck. She ignored him, focusing all her attention on keeping the contents of her stomach where they belonged. He nudged her side with his elbow, insistent.

"Addy, look!" Cursing his life in several different languages, she rolled her throbbing head and used her one good eye to see what had her friend so excited, and through the haze of sickness, what she saw floored her. A giant docking station held a dozen Starships, all impressive in their own right, but they ducked under and between ships, approaching one in specific that nearly made her heart stop. She only had one eyes working, but she could read perfectly the newly-painted black letters on the hull that marked, "U.S.S ENTERPRISE NCC-1701."

* * *

When they landed, Addy's legs had strength enough to hold her (mostly) upright and allow her stumble along with Bones as he kept her propped up with his tight hold on her arm. They weaved through bodies and piping, and all this activity was making her sweat so much worse. She wiped at her brow with her sleeve uselessly. She felt like every pore on her body was crying. It was disgusting.

"Bones, thanks for getting me on board," she slurred, "but I don't feel right. I feel like I'm leaking…"

"Aw hell, it's that pointy-eared bastard," Bones said, paying no mind to her concerns and pulling her off to the side behind a pipe. Addy took the moment to catch her breath. Or tried to anyway, but all too soon Bones was pulling her along again. She had no idea where they went, but it took forever before they were walking through the doors to the medbay (wait, when did her clothes change?) and Bones had her sitting on a biobed.

"Oh this was not worth it," she grumbled. "I wish I didn't know you." Bones had another hypospray in his hand that he was fiddling with, and Addy eyed it suspiciously.

"A little sufferin' is good for the soul."

"My mouth itches, is that normal?" Boned looked up at her before going back to his hypospray.

"Those symptoms won't last long, don't be an infant." He raised the hypo toward her neck, but Addy feebly moved away, not trusting her friend so much anymore when he had sharp things pointed her way.

"Wait, wait, wassat?"

"It's a short-lastin' sedative to help ya sleep it off." Before Addy could decide whether or not she would allow it, he'd thrust the needle through her neck, and the familiar pain of the quick injection was followed by a wall of grogginess that had Adelaide's head spinning. She meant to yell at him, but her body went limp and she crashed back on the bed, her limited vision quickly going fuzzy. Her last thought before she was pulled under was a promise to herself to break all of Bones' hypos as soon as she woke up.

* * *

**Poor Addy, just wanted to get on her ship, and then ending up all drugged and shit. Bwahaha. **

**Like it? Love it? Want more of it? Leave me a review and let me know!**

**Peace.**


	6. Watch It Burn

**Hello, sweeties!**

**I had such a hard time getting this chapter out. I had to step away from it and work on one of my others before I could come back to this one and write something I was okay with posting on the internet for the world to see.**

**Lemme know how well I did with a review, yeah? **

**Kisses!**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

"…appeared to be a lightning storm in space…"

No. Nonononono. There was something… not right about that. Wrong. That was dangerous. Why was that dangerous? God, she couldn't think. Why was there such a heavy blanket on her mind? She was so sharp, she always got things first, so why couldn't she get it this time? There were the red flags warning her to something very, very _bad_, but she couldn't remember why they were so important. _Why couldn't she just think?_

Dimly, pain cut through her haze of confusion and sedative, and she latched on it like a lifeline. Clear thought came with pain. Acute senses. Lucid consciousness.

And she remembered.

"_Mama, how did Daddy die?"_

"_Ladie, why are you asking me this?"_

"_Because you haven't told me what's happened, and he's my dad. I have a right to know."_

"…_you've heard the stories in school, why do you need to hear them from me?"_

"…"

"_Ugh. Fine. Well… it all started with an impossible lightning storm in space…"_

Addy shot up off the biobed, gasping for breath. Lightning storm in space? Had she really heard that? Or was that a nightmare from the sedatives? Gods, she hated those things, she was never letting Bones stick her with a hypo again!

"Addy, yer awake," her traitorous friend said, "how d'ya feel?" She glared over at him, only now remembering that something hurt, and something hurt quite a lot. He'd changed out of his academy uniform while she slept and now wore the blue shirt of his science field. Jesus, were they _supposed_ to be that tight-fitting? When he crossed his arms like, wow…

_No. _That was Bones. Focus.

"Good _God_, woman!" he gasped. She looked over at him, worried, but he was gawking at her hands. She looked down at the things in her lap and shrieked in terror. Her worn but otherwise lithe hands had swollen to almost three times their normal size. Her brain helpfully supplied that they were what was causing her so much pain.

"What the hell is this!?" she yelled. Bones jumped at the distress and slipped into his medical mode, running off towards a nurse.

"Nurse Chapel! I need 50cc's of Cortisone! Ms. Kirk is having an allergic reaction!" Addy was furious with her friend. What a way to get her on to the ship, the rat bastard. Groaning, she hopped off the biobed and stumbled over to a monitor. She clumsily jabbed the screen with her beefy hands, bringing up the most recent broadcast of a baby-faced Russian boy with curls and bright, happy eyes. She pressed the rewind button to the beginning as Bones came up behind her with a tricorder whirring, running it around her head and over her hands. She ignored him.

"At 2200 hours, telemetry detected an anomaly in the Neutral Zone. What appeared to be a lightning storm in space." Dread pooling in her stomach, she pressed the rewind button again. She hadn't heard that. She did not just hear that. Had she heard that? Please say she heard that wrong.

"…appeared to be a lightning storm in space."

_Shit_.

"Yer having an allergic reaction to the vaccine, dammit," Bones growled worriedly. "Ya need an antidote, kid, or yer gonna die." Addy, not hearing what he said, whirled around, her eye wild, and slapped her swollen, purple hands on either sides of Bones' face.

"We have to stop the ship," she said desperately. But… shit. No one was going to listen to her. She wasn't even supposed to be on the fucking Starship. And after The fucking hot-as-melted-chocolate-stick-up-his-ass Vulcan Commander called her a liar in front of _her whole graduating class_, no one was inclined to give her the time of day if she tried. She needed a third party that could back up her theory.

_Uhura!_ Uhura had picked up that transmission about the Klingons getting annihilated, and if she was somehow, by some twist of fate, on this ship, then that was it. Addy was willing to bet, to take out Klingons so easily, the weaponry would have needed to be something as advanced as the Romulan ship that appeared after a lightning storm and killed her father. If she was right, and Uhura had found that in the transmission, she would be the perfect person to back up her story!

Addy dropped her hands and without another word bolted out of the medical bay, Bones calling out behind her. She needed to get to a console. And computer console. Where would they be on a ship like this. Maybe… by the turbolift? She almost slipped on the waxed floor when she turned corners, and there were many disgruntled crewmen that had to jump out of her way at the last second, lest she barrel them over. Bones was running behind her, his tricorder still humming away. Addy let out an internal whoop when she saw the right kind of console right where she thought it would be and ran up to the screen. A layout of the ship's internal structure glowed softly on the display, and Addy took a moment to stop and appreciate how _beautiful_ it was.

"Computer, locate crew member Uhura!" she yelled. People were giving her strange looks, hurrying on to their stations. Bones was glaring harshly at her, just as out of breath as she was.

"Adelaide, I'm not kidding, we have to keep your heart rate down! I haven't seen a reaction this severe since med school." She ignored him while the computer zeroed in one specific life signature a deck down.

"**Lieutenant Uhura is at signals monitoring station twelve – deck four,**" the computer answered in a cool, feminine voice. Addy took off as soon as she had the location, pushing people out of her way, her friend trailing after her and screaming at her to stop running. It felt like it took forever to get there, but she finally walked to the communications monitoring center on deck four. She was about to dive in to the crowd of busy people, but Bones caught her arm and stopped her.

"Bones, lemme go, we're flying into a trap!" He rolled his eyes, fiddling with another hypo. Frightened by the silver thing, she tried to jerk away from him, but he tightened his hold on her arm, and pressed the needle in to her neck, injecting something into her veins with a soft hiss. She yelped.

"Yer delusional, ya know that?"

"Ow, fuck! _Stoppit!_" she snapped at him, finally tearing her arm away from him, and threading her way through the throng of people. Giant steel collector tanks for things Addy had no attention for shaped the long workplace for many people. Addy was having trouble looking at everybody at sitting at the stations, and she felt for a panicked moment that she'd gone too far when she spotted the dark skinned beauty sitting at her station, talking to someone next to her. Letting out a sigh of relief, she ran up to Nyota and grabbed her shoulder, making the woman jump in surprise.

"Uhura!" The woman turned to look at who had come up to her, and her mouth dropped when she saw that it was Addy, her curls flying every direction physically possible, and her face shining with a layer of sweat.

"Kirk!? What are you doing here!?" Uhura leapt out of her chair. Addy let go of the shorter woman's shoulder, wiping the sweat from her stinging eyes.

"That Klingon prison planet – who was it that escaped?" Uhura's delicate brow furrowed in confusion.

"What are you _talking _ab – ohmygod, what's wrong with your hands!?" Addy looked at her swollen hands, and his them behind her back. Bones was muttering behind her, and it was making her nervous considering his recent fondness for jabbing her neck, but she couldn't pay him any attention right now.

"The transmission you picked up in SanFran. Who was responsible for the Klingon attack, and was the ship mommulan?" Addy brought her own eyebrows together. Why was her tongue so heavy? Well… more numb really. She couldn't feel it, and moving it was impossible.

"Was the ship what?" Addy glared at Bones behind her.

"Bones, wat da fuck?" He looked at her, concerned.

"Ya got numb tongue?" Her eyes bulged.

"Mum pung!?" He smiled at her shakily, rifling through his med bag.

"I can fix that." Sighing hopelessly, Addy turned back to Uhura, willing the woman to understand. She studied every language known to man. Maybe her sensitive ears could decipher what Adelaide meant if she tried hard enough.

"Mommulan!" Uhura shook her head in confusion.

"What?"

"_Mommulan_!" Uhura's brow straightened out in a look of understanding, and Addy's stomach filled with hope. Maybe, just maybe…

"…Romulan?" Addy jumped up and down excitedly. Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes! Thank you, universe, for finally doing something _right_ by placing Uhura on this ship! Wait… how _was_ she on this ship? Hadn't Uhura been assigned to the _Farragut_?

"'es! 'es 'es 'es!" Uhura gave Addy a confused smiled in the blonde woman's excitement. Joy which was swiftly cut off when Bones jabbed her with another hypo, shooting pan in her neck.

"Ow! Dammit! Sonofabitch!" Addy glared over at him, swatting his arm with her huge hand, and took off running once more, grabbing Uhura and bringing her along. Now to go to the bridge to try and stop the ship. Mid warp. When she was supposed to be grounded planetside.

Right.

* * *

"Addy!" Bones cried out desperately as she rounded the last corner, speeding up when she saw the door to the bridge. She was so fucked over if they didn't listen to her.

"Addy, come back! Stop!" Without listening she burst through the doors, breaking regulation by not asking for permission to come aboard first. Everyone at their stations jumped and whirled around to look at the sudden loud noises of first Addy, the Bones, and finally Uhura bursting through the doors. Pike was staring at Adelaide in shock, and she could see the train of thought in his head, and how angry he was quickly becoming. She needed to get her say so in first before they had her thrown in the brig and got them all killed.

"Captain Pike, Sir, we have to stop the ship!"

"How the hell did you get on board?" he asked dangerously. Involuntarily, her eyes flicked over to Bones before she straightened her back and thanked her lucky stars that whatever Bones had stuck her with, it had made her hands their normal size again. Pike, however, caught the flicker of her eyes, and turned on her best friend accusingly.

"This woman," Bones started explaining desperately, "is under the influence of a severe reaction to a vaccine. She is delusional, and I take full responsibility for–"

"Vulcan isn't experiencing a natural disaster," she interrupted, talking loudly over him so that everyone on the bridge could hear her, "it's being attacked by Romulans."

"Romulans?" Pike scoffed. "Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough attention for one day. Dr. McCoy, take her back to medical. You and I will have words, later." Rebuked, Bones ducked his head and pulled gently on Addy's arm, but she swatted him away and stepped closer to the captain, opening her mouth to being explaining to him why she was right, and here was the evidence, and breaking the rules or not, she was the smartest fucking cadet in the academy, not to mention she had _personal experience_ with this anomaly and _why were they still flying into a trap_ but a too-familiar deep voice rumbled softly off to her left, stopping her in her tracks. Dear Jesus, but that voice was like honey.

"Captain, as you know, Cadet Kirk is not cleared to be aboard the _Enterprise_, and by Starfleet regulations, this makes her a stowaway." Addy rolled her eyes towards the heavens before glaring angrily at the Vulcan Commander.

"Yeah, I get it, you're a great arguer. I'd _love_ to do it again with you, too." He ignored her, facing Pike with his hands clasped together behind his back.

"I can removed the cadet from the bridge, Sir–"

"_Try it_," Addy snarled, "this cadet is trying to save the bridge!" Sexy man or no, he was pissing her off like no one she had ever encountered in her life. Yeah, the blue shirt of his science field was quite attractive, and pulled over his muscles in ways that, at any other time, would make her mouth water, but right now all she wanted to do was clock him a good one right in his proud Vulcan nose. Smarmy fucker.

"By recommending a full stop in trans-warp in the midst of a rescue mission?" Spock asked her neutrally (but it was totally mocking, she could tell, and oooooooooh she was going to punch him), finally turning to face her directly. She narrowed her blue eyes at him.

"It's not a rescue mission, it's a trap."

"Based on what _facts_?" The bridge was completely still, Bones and Uhura frozen by the door out to the hall. Pike looked ready to throw Addy out himself, but was allowed this to continue, curious what could possibly convince her this was a bad idea. But she could see the decision already in his eyes. He didn't believe her. Neither did Spock. Hell, not even Bones believed her. And that… well, that hurt maybe more than it should have. Also pissed her off beyond belief, because were all these fuckers forgetting how well she did in the academy?

"Fine," Addy turned the full force of her anger and anxiety on the taller Vulcan, glaring up in to his face and putting her fists on her hips. "Fact: the same anomaly – a lightning storm in space – that was seen today also occurred on the day of my birth, before a Romulan ship attacked the _U.S.S Kelvin._" Addy turned back to Pike, his eyes shrouded and wary. "You know that, sir, I read your dissertation, which was really good, by the way."

Addy turned back to Spock.

"Fact: this ship, which had formidable and advanced weaponry, was never seen or heard from again. Fact: the _Kelvin_ attack took place on the edge of Klingon space and at 2300 hours last night there was an escape from a Klingon prison planet – Rura Penthe. Fact: the escaped prisoners were Romulans, _Sir_, and it was reported that they stole a ship from the prison dock. Fact: 47 Klingon warbirds were reported destroyed by Romulans in one ship, one _massive_ ship." Okay, so she might have been a little more interested in that transmission than she let on. Who could blame her if she'd hacked her way through codes to find out exactly what Uhura had translate? She could see the woman's flash of surprise out of the corner of her eye, and then a withering glare sent her way when the comms officer realized what Addy had done in her alone time last night. Hey, idle hands were the devil's plaything. Isn't that how the saying went?

"And you know of this prison escape how?" Pike asked cautiously. She could see the turmoil in his mind, and she felt oddly like she was back in Riverside, sitting at a table with a bloody nose while Pike stirred up a conflict in her own mind. She shook the feeling from herself and nodded in Uhura's direction. All of the attention was suddenly directed at the linguist, and she faltered for a moment, sending Addy one last glare before standing tall and looking at the Captain with all the grace she could manage in such a sticky situation.

"Sit I – I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate." Nodding her thanks to the angry woman, she turned back to the worried look on Pike's face. She was so close. So _very_ close…

"We're warping into a trap. There are Romulans waiting for us, I _promise_ you that." Pike gave her a long, hard stare before looking over to Spock for his opinion. The Vulcan locked gazes with Addy for a while before saying anything, and she had the odd feeling that he was analyzing her worth and words before answering. She could almost see the pros and cons behind his eyes. She almost bit her lip. Spock could completely screw her over just out of spite right here if he wanted to, but she was relying on his dedication to logic and the fact that Vulcans don't lie. At least… she thought they don't lie. Maybe she'd heard that wrong? Oh shit, where had she heard that from?

"The cadet's logic is sound," he admitted eventually. She could tell that it was a very difficult thing for him to say aloud, and thanked him by not smirking smugly. Now was not the time or place for gloating. "And Lieutenant Uhura is unmatched in xenolinguistics, we would be wise accept her conclusion."

Addy let out a sigh of relief. Pike hesitated before looking over his lead Communications Officer.

"Scan Vulcan space, check for any transmissions in Romulan." The comms officer pushed buttons nervously.

"Sir, I'm not sure I can distinguish the Romulan language from Vulcan." Pike stormed over to Uhura.

"What about you? Do you speak Romulan, Cadet…?"

"Uhura. All three dialects, Sir." Pike nodded.

"Uhura, relieve the Lieutenant." Uhura blinked at him before a gentle smile pulled at her corners and was tucked away for a later date.

"Yes, sir." She walked over to the comms station and the man stood from the chair, allowing her to take over for the communications department. Good. Maybe she wouldn't be so vengeful when hunting Addy down later.

"Hannity," Pike said to the another comms officer behind him, "hail the _U.S.S. Truman._" The woman pushed a button then looked at her screen and frowned.

"The other ships are out of warp and have arrived at Vulcan, Sir, but we seem to have lost all contact…"

"Captain," Uhura chimed, "I pick up no Romulan transmissions. Or transmissions of any kind in the area."

"It's because they're being attacked," Addy spoke up. Pike looked back at her gravely. She pleaded him with her eyes to believe her. See the evidence in front of his face. He could be angry with her all he wanted, but she begged him not to condemn the rest of the crew, and the ship – _her_ ship – to sudden death just out of spite. He walked over to his chair and sat down.

"Shields up. Red alert." Addy let out a great breath of relief, almost falling over from the weight lifted off her shoulders. Bones caught her, supporting her against his body. The lights on the bridge went red and an alarm (was that the same alarm from the _Kobayashi Maru_? Aw, hell…) blared.

"Arrival at Vulcan in five seconds!" Bones and Addy both grabbed a rail behind the Captain's chair for support. Pike tensed his hands on the arm rests. Spock stood next to her, one hand on the rail. Addy looked over at his slightly green hand and was surprised to see that his knuckles were white. She looked up at him, and she would bet money that he wasn't feeling anything right now by the look on his face. But his hand was gripping the rail so tight, she thought he was going to bend the metal.

She opened her mouth to apologize for how she had snapped at him earlier, not wanting him to feel such concern, but not really knowing how else to help when the ship dropped out of warp with a great shake. The blue of stars and space rushing by disappeared, replaced by the orange of smoldering hunks of metal. Addy cried out in horror as the piece of metal turned over and she read AGUT in black ink.

"Emergency Evasive!" Pike cried out.

"On it, Sir!" Spock disappeared, running back to his station as the ship groaned and turned to the left to avoid being hit. Addy tensed her hands on the rail, Bones swearing next to her, and looked out of the window at the leftover carnage. She could see bodies floating around the wreckage, and willed herself not to cry. These were her peers. She hadn't made many friends among them, but she respected each and every one of them for their dreams and aspirations. And now they were dead. They were all of them, dead, floating forevermore through the empty vacuum of space.

"Damage report!"

"Deflector shields holding, Sir!"

Addy cried out as they spun around in a circle, avoiding chunks of various starships and crested over a piece for find the brunt of one ship headed right toward them. Bones tightened his hold on her shoulders and she bit her lip. They weren't going to make it. She hadn't been fast enough. They were all going to die, and it was her fault because she hadn't been fast enough.

"Full reverse. Come about starboard 90 degrees. Drop us down underneath them, Sulu." Addy tore her eyes away from the destroyed ship to look over at the Helmsman, jabbing things frantically on his screen and grimacing hard. She looked back out the window to see they were dropping down below as instructed, but it was too slow. They were still going to be scraped. Addy's fear was answered a moment later as the ship shook hard, tossing her hard against the rail and bruising her ribcage and a high pitched keening noise echoed from deep inside the bridge. She winced in pain along with the _Enterprise_, but gasped when a great ship came into view.

Addy stared at it, dumbfounded. She had never seen a ship of that size. It could easily hold all of the academy, the professors, the academy board, and a good 200 civilian passengers, it was so massive. It had long spires and sharp ends, all pointing out like an animal bearing its teeth. She was reminded of some kind of sea creature, and with a wave of nausea, Addy knew she was looking at the same ship that had killed her father 21 years ago. She heard many gasps around the room, and Pike went completely silent as they all took in this new horror. A beep behind her and then Spock was talking urgently to the Pike.

"Captain, they're locking torpedoes!" Pike snapped to attention, never tearing his eyes away from the ship.

"Divert auxiliary power from port nacelles to forward shields!" Addy held her breath as Sulu rolled the _Enterprise_, making the rust planet below them and the enormous ship roll confusingly. There was a great rumble and Addy almost fell to the floor, but for Bones holding her upright. She smiled wearily up at him, grateful. He looked grimly down at her, shaking his head before looking out the window again.

"Sulu, status report," Pike demanded.

"Shields at 32%. Their weapons are powerful, Sir, we can't take another hit like that."

"Get me Starfleet command!" Spock pressed a series of buttons, frowned when nothing happened, then pressed a button for a scan of some sort, quickly reading over the results.

"Captain, the Romulan ship has lowered some kind of high energy pulse device into the Vulcan atmosphere. Its signal appears to be blocking our communications and transporter abilities." Well shit, they couldn't call for help, nor could they beam down to the ship and explain to the Vulcans what this threat was and what it could mean for the planet.

"All power to forward shields, prepare to fire all weapons!" Addy watches fascinated as the _Enterprise_ fires weapons back, watching them land and make purchase on the ship with small explosions that are quickly sucked away by the vacuum. Pike starts giving the order for another volley when a face, heavily tattooed and Romulan blips up on the screen. The prominent ridges on the Romulan forehead are decorated with intricate tattoos of interlocking lines and sharp edges in a way that's almost hypnotic, if Addy stares at it too long.

"Hello," the Romulan man said pleasantly. Cordial, even. It made Adelaide's hackles stand on end.

"I'm Captain Christopher Pike, to whom am I speaking?" Pike challenged. The man smiled.

"Hi, Christopher. I'm Nero." Addy stilled. Nero. _Nero. Nero!?_ That was the same name of the man that had been Captain of the ship that had killed her father. She'd read the black box transcript her second year of schooling. White hot hatred shook her limbs, and Bones had to work a bit harder at holding her upright. This man had killed her father, had deprived her of that role in her life. He'd sent her mother into a depression Winona never really shook off. Winona had remarried, and Frank had abused her, and Tarsus IV had happened, all because of _this fucking man_ right in front of her.

"You've declared war against the Federation. Withdraw, and I'll agree to arrange a conference with Romulan leadership at a neutral loca–"

"I do not speak for the Empire," Nero interrupted. "We stand apart. As does you Vulcan crew member. Isn't that right, Spock?" Confused faces turned toward an equally confused Vulcan as Spock slowly stood from his console. How the hell did this monster know Spock?

"Pardon me, I do not believe that you and I are acquainted." Nero's smile twitched.

"No. No we're not. Not yet." A beat of silence before Nero continued. "Spock, there's something I would like you to see." The Vulcan man quirked his eyebrow and cocked his head as the Romulan Captain regarded Pike once more

"Captain Pike, your transporter has been disabled. As you can see by the rest of your armada, you have no choice. You will man a shuttle and come aboard the _Narada_ for negotiations. That is all." Addy's stomach dropped. There was no fucking way Pike went on the ship and lived. She shook Bones off her as Pike stood slowly from his chair, and ran around to stand in front of him. She looked up in his resolute face and almost cried. He'd already made his decision.

"He'll _kill_ you. You know that!" she said desperately.

"Your survival is statistically unlikely," Spock agreed. Addy knew Pike was _really_ screwed if Spock was willingly agreeing with her.

"Sir," Addy murmured, Pike's eyes regarding her face sadly, "we gain _nothing_ by diplomacy. Going over to that ship is a mistake!"

"I, too, agree," Spock piped up. "You should rethink your strategy.

"I understand that," Pike answered softly, looking at Adelaide for a moment before speaking louder and looking around the bridge. "I need officers that have advanced training in hand-to-hand combat." The Helmsman's hand rose slowly.

"I have training, Sir." Pike nodded.

"Then come with me," he said, turning back to Addy. "Kirk, you too. You're not supposed to be here anyway. Chekov, radio the engine room. Have Chief Engineer Olsen meet us at Shuttle Bay Five."

"Aye, Keptin," the Russian curls from before squeaked as Pike walked by. Addy hesitated a moment then gave in as Spock followed, Bones once again trailing behind her.

"Dr. McCoy, return to medical," Pike said dismissively when they reached the turbolift. Bones scowled by nodded and walked off. Addy watched him until the turbo doors shut. There was silence in the tense 'lift as they traveled down to the Shuttle Bay area. Addy's palms were sweaty by the time they stepped out, a red shirt she assumed to be Olsen waiting for them.

"Without transporters, we can't beam off the ship, can't assist Vulcan, can't do our job. I'm creating an opportunity," Pike explained as they speed walked through the crowd in the Shuttle Bay. "Ms. Kirk, Mr. Sulu, and Mr. Olsen… you three will space-jump from the shuttle. You'll have chutes, and use those to land on the machine they've lowered into the atmosphere that's scrambling our gear. You'll get inside, you'll disable it, then you'll beam back to the ship."

Addy looked over at Sulu, sharing a look of anxiety before hurrying after the Captain. That possibility of them landing on this and completing that job was so outrageous, Addy didn't even bother calculating them. The chances were too high that they would burn up in the atmosphere, miss the landing pad, or any number of other variables. She realized just how truly desperate Pike was to even think of attempting a stunt like this.

"Right…" she muttered.

"Mr. Spock, I'm leaving you in command of the _Enterprise_. Once we have transport capability and communications back up, you'll contact Starfleet and report what the hell's going on here, something you've got only few precious minutes to figure out." Pike stopped as he got to another turbolift that would take him up to a small shuttle craft and turned to look at the Vulcan. The doors opened smoothly behind him. "If all else fails, fall back and rendezvous with the fleet in the Laurentian System. Kirk, I'm promoting you to First Officer."

Addy, Sulu, and Spock stood dumbfounded. Had they all heard that right? Olsen watched them all amused.

"What?" Addy croaked.

"Captain?" Spock hedged disbelievingly.

"While I'm gone we need to keep the chain of command, and you two make a _swell_ team." Addy groaned. So _this_ was her punishment for coming aboard the _Enterprise_. No demerits, no discharge, no brig. She had to work _under_ Spock. Pike made the pompous man her superior. If she didn't respect the admiral so much, she would throttle him.

"Captain, please. I apologize, but the complexities of human pranks escape me." Addy shook off her shock to glare around Sulu at the Vulcan. Human pranks? Did he have _any_ manners?

"It's not a prank, Spock. And I'm not the Captain… you are." Wait… wait just a damn minute, here. There was something Pike hadn't mentioned.

"When we knock out that machine, Sir, what happens to you?" Pike shrugged.

"I guess you'll have to come and get me." He turned back to Spock, who by all rights, looked like he'd been struck by lightning. If the situation wasn't so dire, Addy would giggle. "Be careful with the ship, Spock. She's brand new."

With that, Pike turned and entered the 'lift, looking expectantly at Addy and her companions. The three of them quickly shuffled inside, and in no time are inside the shuttle as Pike opens a compartment and hands them all bags with airdrop armor in them. Sulu got the yellow of command to match his shirt, and Olsen got the red of his support station, which left Addy with the blue of the science field. She wiggled her way in, pressing a button that adjusted the suit to fit her body shape with a gentle hum and a hiss of air, laughing internally at what Bones would say about all this. She took the helmet Pike handed to her and sat between the two men as the Captain… former Captain took the pilot's chair. She turned to Olsen sitting next to her.

"You brought the charges, right?" He grinned like a maniac, nodding.

"Oh yeah. I can't wait to kick me some Romulan ass, right?" She looked at him for a moment, puffed up chest, testosterone nearly seeping through his pores. What a fucking sack.

"Yeah," she replied stiffly. His grin widened.

"Oh _hell_ yeah!" She shook her head as the shuttle whirred to life and Pike flew out of the ship to open space, looping back around the _Enterprise_ and heading towards the _Narada_. Addy turned to the anxious Helmsman.

"So what kind of combat training do you have?" He smiled at her nervously.

"Fencing." Addy's face fell.

"Fencing?" Sulu nodded. Well… shit.

"Pre-jump!" Pike shouted. Addy shook herself out of her dismayed stupor, pulling a skin-tight body suit over her curls to flatten them, and attaching her helmet to her armor with a click. Oxygen instantly started flowing through her helmet, and she breathed calmly, settling her nerves. Sulu and Olsen stood up with her as Pike closed the doors separating the cockpit from the compartment behind him. The lights flickered off, and they were shrouded in darkness but for the small red blub by the doors.

"We're approaching the drop zone," Pike said through the communicators built in to their suits. Handle bars descended from the ceiling, and the three of them gripped them tight. "We have one shot to land on that platform. They may have defenses, so pull your chute as late as possible."

Addy's heart rate picked up as Pike counted down the change of gravity, and she slammed against the hull ceiling, looking down at the doors on the floor that would open and fling her out in to space. She gripped the handle bar tighter.

"Remember," Pike warned, "the _Enterprise_ won't be able to beam you back until you turn off that drill." Addy breathed heavy, listening to the sound of her companions breathing through her comm unit, taking comfort in the fact that she wasn't the only one frightened here.

"Good luck." The bomb bay doors opened, and the whole of the universe flashed before her eyes and she let go of the bar, lest her arms be torn off as the vacuum of space sucked her out in to the quiet, the cold, and solitude.

* * *

**Aaaaaand that's a wrap!**

**Haha. Just kidding. We still have so long to go! I can't leave ya hangin' (haha. Get it? Hanging? Because of Kirk holding on to the... oh nevermind) like that!**

**So leave me a review and I'll give you another chapter. Bwahahaha.**

**Peace.**


	7. Go For Broke

**Why hello there!**

**I decided, as a special treat, to post the next chapter right away.**

**I tried proofreading over this before posting. I think I caught all the mistakes, but I dunno for sure. Lemme know if you see any obvious ones, and I'll go fix them!**

**Kisses!**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek of any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

It was a very humbling experience falling through outer space. Since they were still outside the atmosphere of the red orb below them, they weren't gaining any speed. Simply falling at the same speed with which they had been sucked out of the shuttle. Addy could hear herself and her two companions breathing hard through her helmet, and it was dizzying. To hear the life of three people, trying the impossible. All of it, it made Adelaide feel very… small. Something she was not used to with her larger-than-life attitude and her planet sized ego. Of course, she didn't really have an ego _quite_ as large as she portrayed, but she liked to make others think she did. She'd had therapists told her it was a defense mechanism, but that was neither here nor there.

They flew by the long cord of twisting metal and cables at dizzying speeds, and far, far below beneath the clouds, Adelaide could see a thin orange line stretching from the platform to deep within a chasm opening like an ugly wound on the planet's surface. She was intrigued by the sight. What were they doing to Vulcan? It looked like some sort of plasma drill to deep beneath the crust, maybe even down to the core, but to what end? Only one way to find out, and she was about to get her answers very soon, up close and personal.

"**Away team is entering the atmosphere, Sir! Twenty thousand meters.**" Chekov's voice chirped through her comm unit. She grimaced in preparation. Pressure slowly built as her armor became strained with the task of entering the atmosphere without burning up or exploding. She groaned as the plates tightened over her body and a super-cooling gel rushed through the veins of her suit from her chute pack, counteracting the building heat as they fell through the atmosphere. She could hear Sulu and Olsen grunting in discomfort with the pressure, and just when she thought she was going to crush in on herself, she pushed through the layers of invisible electromagnetic fields with what could almost be described as a pop, and gasped.

"**Approaching the platform at 5,800 meters!**" Chekov's voice buzzed in her ear once more. Addy looked up to the upper right corner of her helmet where a display of distance to the target destination was swiftly counting down, and gaining speed. Now that she'd left outer space, the pull of gravity was increasing her speed exponentially. She pressed her arms closer to her body and clamped her legs together to streamline her body and help her gain speed even faster.

"This is Kirk to _Enterprise_," she spoke into her comm, knowing that her voice would echo through the whole bridge. "Distance to target 5,000 meters."

Chekov was almost speaking before she was done. Jesus, how fast were they falling?

"**Distance to target 4,600 meters.**"

"**WOOYEAH!**" Olsen's voice boomed through Addy's comm, and it was only sheer force of will that kept her body straight. If she even moved so much as a foot right now, the weight displacement could send her careening off through the air until she fell to the ground and died instantly. Or, worse, it could fling her right into the cord and pierce her armor and impale her, also effectively killing her. But if she could have, she would have reached out and slapped Olsen upside his head for scaring her like that.

"4,000 meters," she grumbled.

"**3,000 meters!**" Sulu and Olsen said a few moments later. The platform was much larger now, and yes, that was definitely a plasma drill, but larger than any Addy had ever seen. She wanted to pull her chute now, but she could wait a couple more seconds.

"**Pulling chute!**" Sulu said. She waited one last second after him before she followed suit, clenching her fist and pressing a certain button on her left hand. Her suit beeped and the pack opened to let a matching blue chute unfurl behind her. Addy stopped falling with a hard jerk, and she winced as her it made her ribs twinge with pain. Bones was going to be unhappy with her when she got back to the ship. A streak of red, and she watched in growing anticipation as Olsen blew past them. She was already falling at a much smaller speed, gripping the handles of her chute that let her control the direction she floated in, and she knew Sulu was doing the same behind her. So why wasn't Olsen? Did he have a death wish?

"Olsen!" she screamed. "Pull your fucking chute!"

"**No, not yet! Not yet! 1,500 meters!**" She shook her head, not wanting to watch, but unable to look away as Olsen pulled his chute right before he smacked into the platform, whooping and hollering like a madman. She looked on sadly as he floated down, too fast, swinging dangerously. She heard him yelp in pain when he swung forward and smacked into the hard metal of the platform, his chute carrying him over, and she trembled as his scream of terror as it got caught in the plasma and pulled him under the platform, incinerating him.

"**O-Olsen is gone, Sir…**" Chekov breathed shakily. Addy gulped and gripped the controls for the parachute tighter. Now how were they supposed to destroy the damn thing? Olsen had the fucking charges. Then Addy realized she had no time to lament their loss and Olsen's life when she saw just how close the platform was.

She braced herself against the hard landing, but still grunted when her feet hit a grating hard, making her tumble. She panicked. If she didn't get her feet underneath her or grab something with her hands, she was going to meet the same fate as Olsen. She tumbled along, somehow managing to not get tangled in her chute cords, and her panic rose when she saw how close to the edge she was. She flung her arms out in one last wild attempt and crowed in glee as her right hand caught the metal lip of a ventilation hole. She flipped herself over and grabbed the other hole next to it with her left and strained against the chute open behind her, catching all the wind and trying to pull her over. She panted hard at the effort, and raised her left hand slowly to slam it against the button on her back that retracted the chute.

When she felt her pack close and the strain to pull her over disappeared, she knew she had safely (sort of) landed. She looked up to the sky, searching for the yellow of her companion Sulu, preparing to grab his arm and hold him if the same trouble befell him. But she never had the need. A gust of wind pushed Sulu towards the cable where his parachute got snagged and held him suspended 20 yards from the drill's surface. Cursing, she dashed as quickly as she could towards the Helmsman, having no idea how she could help him, but knowing she had to try.

"Hold on!" she yelled. "I'm coming for you!" She could see Sulu scrambling to use his snapping cables to climb back up to the chute so he could find better purchase with his own hands on the drill cable lest he fall through the air towards Vulcan when the chute finally detached. Addy jumped and leapt and darted as best she could, but stopped when Sulu's voice rang through her comms.

"**BEHIND YOU!**" Addy whirled around and fell over as a Romulan bashed her helmet with the butt of a large phaser gun. Grumbling, Addy rolled away from the tall alien and wrenched her helmet off, gasping as her overheated body shocked at the frigid temperatures this high in the air. The Romulan came towards her with a war cry, but she flung her helmet at him as a distraction, and ducked under his arms, stretching her legs for all they were worth and knocking the gun from his hands with a spinning kick. The Romulan glared at her. Addy winked.

He charged her, and she jumped to the side, giving him a shove as he fell, his head colliding with the metal, but he took it all in stride, rolling with the momentum and leaping to his feet in a low crouch. She tensed as another latch opened with a clang and a second Romulan emerged, leveling her with the wrong end of a gun. With a sick feeling in her stomach, Addy kept a close eye on both, and all three of the tense people startled when Sulu tackled the second Romulan with a fierce cry, pulling a sword out of his pack and dealing with his own fight.

Addy looked back to her first companion grimly. He snarled at her, stalking slowly this time. She eyed his movements carefully, recalling the lessons she'd gone through in combat training after Tarsus and in the academy. Personally, Starfleet instructions were too restrained, too soft for Addy to feel like they did any real damage, and she was grateful for the lessons she demanded after her rescue from Tarsus. Her desire for martial arts training stemmed from the desire to never let another being hold control over her body like the way she'd experienced on that godforsaken planet. She was comfortable in her abilities to hold her own in a fight.

The Romulan tensed, and she could see the tension in his legs building in preparation for a leap at her, and she rolled out of the way, sending him crashing to the metal with a furious growl. Before she was on her feet, though, the man had her by her messy curls, pulling her harshly to her feet. She could feel his breath on her neck, and it made her sick. Angrily, she raised her leg and shoved it into the man's shin for all she was worth, feeling and hearing the satisfying crack of bone breaking. The Romulan howled in pain, but only tightened his grip on her hair. She kicked his leg again right where she'd broken it, and with a painful grunt, he released her hair, letting her fall to the ground. She glared up at the man, ignoring the initial feelings of guilt when she saw the look of pain on his face. She stood warily to her feet, and faster than she could blink, the Romulan lashed out with a punch, catching her square on the jaw, and making her stumble backwards, pain blossoming over her face.

Addy grabbed his wrist before he could pull away, yanking him closer towards her, and tripping him with his injured leg, sending him off to her side. She kicked him square in the gut and once in the face for good measure. Hot foot came away green with blood. Feeling sick and just wanting this fight to be over, Addy kicked him over and over as he rolled away from her in pain, and she stopped when he tumbled over the side of the drill, disappearing into the plasma. She stood there under the realization that she killed someone but shook off to deal with and whirled around to see if Sulu needed her assistance. He didn't. With a great kick, he sent his opponent over a grate, and Addy watched as the grate lit up in fire, burning the screaming Romulan to ashes in moments. The pair of them stumbled toward each other.

Sulu had a gash close to his left eye and a split lip, but otherwise seemed okay. Addy could tell by the hot swollen feeling that her jaw was going to have a mighty pretty bruise later.

"Olsen had the charges!" Sulu shouted over the noise of the drill.

"I know!" Addy shouted back. She looked around the drill for the phaser gun and dashed to it when she found it stuck in another vent hole. Sulu followed after her, picking up the other one with a confused look.

"What's your idea?" Addy grinned, despite how it hurt, and leveled her gun where the drill connected with the cord. Sulu caught on and they both pulled the trigger, opening fire with bright flashes of light. The drill sparked and popped until they could hear the plasma shut off. It was a lot quieter now that the drill wasn't working. Addy and Sulu looked over at each other, grinning wildly.

There was a booming sound above them and they looked up, squinting in the sunlight as a large metal pod flung past them and down into the hole below. Addy and Sulu ran to the edge, watching in concerned fascination. Addy spoke in to the neck of her suit toward her spare comms unit.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_," she panted, "they just launched something at the planet through the hole they just drilled." She waited for a response of recognition from Chekov, Spock, Uhura, anybody, but was only met with silence.

'_Aw fuck, don't tell me my comm is busted!'_ she thought, dismayed.

"Do you copy, _Enterprise?_" There was another pause, before someone answered her distractedly that they heard, and it went silent again. She looked over at Sulu in exasperation and he shrugged, not knowing what to say when the drill creaked ominously.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_. Beam us out of here!"

"**Stand by. Locking on your signal.**" Addy and Sulu scrambled as their balance was threatened when the drill began folding up. She threw herself backward landing on her bum, but watched in horror as the Helmsman teetered on the edge precariously, giving her a frightened look before falling over the edge and disappearing.

"**I'm having trouble locking on to your signal. Don't move. **_**Don't**_** move.**"

Fuck that.

With a shout of his name, Addy ran over the edge and jumped off after Sulu. She could see him, a small yellow dot falling faster and faster away from her. She streamlined her body once more, pressing everything flat and smooth so as to pick up speed. Her eyes welled up with tears as the wind tore her hairband away, whipping her blonde curls in her face and all around her annoyingly.

It took three seconds for her to catch up to Sulu, and she slammed in to him with an great "Oof" and sent them spinning through the air.

"Pull my chute! Pull my chute!" she yelled, knowing it would never support their weight at this speed without snapping, but at least it would slow them down for a couple of seconds before the strain became too great and she could buy more time for the _Enterprise_ to beam them up.

Sulu pushed the button on her chest and the chute flew out behind her, jerking them both to a slower pace before the cables creaked and snapped, flying through the air above them.

"Beam us up, _Enterprise!_ We're falling without a chute!"

"**I'm trying! I can't lock on to your signal–**"

"Beam us up!"

"–**you're moving too fast!**"

"BEAM US UP!" Addy watched with leaking eyes as the red rock of Vulcan started getting clearer and clearer as they got closer and closer.

"_ENTERPRISE_, WHERE ARE YOU!?" Sulu clutched her tight, and she held his head tight to her shoulder, unwilling to let him see how close their end was. Addy squeezed her own eyes shut , lamenting such an abrupt ending to her life, when she felt the familiar pull of the transporter beam locking on to her and separating her molecules. She let out a cry of joy and white light swirled around them, gathering in speed and brightness until she felt a great push and pull and suddenly she was falling three feet with Sulu on the transporter pad. She groaned as Sulu landed on top of her, crushing her left shoulder and leg.

The pair of them chuckled madly as Sulu pushed himself off her and rolled to the side. He lolled his head over, smiling tiredly at her.

"Thank you," he said softly. Addy grinned and shoved his shoulder gently.

"Forget about it." Sulu looked at her a moment then shook his head, groaning as he pushed himself to his feet. Spock rushed in, clipping a belt around his hips and setting a phaser to charge. Addy jumped at the distress obvious on his face.

"Clear the pad. I am beaming to the surface." Addy and Sulu tumbled off in a panting heap.

"The surface of what? The planet?" Spock didn't answer, simply crouching down in anticipation of an unstable environment. "What, are you nuts? You can't go down there!"

"Energize," Spock said, giving the transporter chief a hard look. The same bright light engulfed Spock as his molecules separated and he disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

* * *

It was several very long, heavy moments of silence before Spock reconnected with the Starship.

"**Spock to **_**Enterprise**_," he said, breathing heavy, "**beam us up!**"

"Locking wolume," Chekov said, "stay right where you are! Don't mowe." Addy bit her lip nervously, chewing at the skin there, and tugged anxiously at her earlobe. She could see the six signatures on the screen over Chekov's shoulder. "Transport in 5… 4… 3…"

Everyone's face fell as an alarm buzzed routinely, and Addy watched in growing dread as one of the signatures fell and danced across the screen as the ship's computers tried to compensate and lock on to her signal once more. Chekov's fingers danced over the screen, following her signature only seconds too late.

"No, no, I'm losing her, I'm losing her!" he shouted frantically. The transporter beam lit up with light as five forms glowed into existence as their molecules were stitched back together. "I lost her…" Chekov muttered miserably, sitting back in his seat. Addy's eyes left the screen and latched on to where Spock stood, his left arm outstretched to the only empty space where his mother should have been. His eyes were wide with horror and grief, and the weight of is crushed Adelaide, making her gasp. Her limply dropped his hand, blinking slowly as he stared at the empty space. She could imagine what he was feeling. She knew the pain of losing a parent. Two, in fact.

But not like this.

Addy's heart went out to the man. No matter the differences they had in ideas on how to conduct oneself during a rigged test or on following Starfleet regulations, she felt for the Vulcan. She knew the feeling of growing up with a mother, leaning on their constant warmth and comfort when no one else was willing to give any. She knew the feeling of that special place a mother held in the hearts of their children, and how it was feel empty for the rest of his life, and never ben filled with anything. There would always be a part of Spock that felt a little bit lacking, and she wept for the fact that this stiff, awkward man knew that kind of bone-chilling, gut-wrenching pain. She could see how it crushed him, even as his posture remained perfect.

As he stiffly stepped off the pad, the elders watching him wordlessly and Chekov ducking his head in guilt, Adelaide wanted to offer some words of comfort. She wanted to say _something_ to let him know that she understood, that he wasn't alone in his misery, but her voice failed her. Spock walked jerkily out of the transporter room, his eyes glassy, and Addy felt despair cling to every surface in the room. Her eyes watered and she wiped at them furiously.

The ground beneath her feet rumbled and quaked, and she grabbed the back of Chekov's chair for support.

"What the hell is that?" she murmured. Chekov looked back at her, tears making his eyes wet and shiny.

"Whatewer they fired at the planet created a singularity at the heart of Wulcan, consuming ewerything and eweryone." Addy felt a chill go down her spine as she ran out the door.

So not only had his mother died, but he just lost his whole planet. Adelaide thought of never being able to see Earth again. Never being able to walk over the green grass, or climb a large tree. Never enjoy a cool drink on a hot day, or the crackle of a fire as it stormed with snow outside her home. Spock would never again be able to walk the red deserts of his home world, never view the constellations visible in his part of the universe, never do anything on Vulcan ever again.

Addy stumbled on to the bridge in her blue airdrop armor just to see the last bits of Vulcan crumbling in on itself, leaving a gaping black nothing where previously there had been a great, red planet, full of life and culture. The bridge, save for the routine alarms and beeps of the computer doing its job, was deathly silent. Addy felt wet tears run down her face, and a great anger swept over her. For her father, Spock's mother, his whole species, she vowed then and there to exact revenge on this Romulan nightmare.

Or she would die trying.

* * *

**Not too pleased with the ending, but I couldn't come up with anything better. It isn't too horrible, is it? Leave me a review and lemme know whatcha think!**

**Peace.**


	8. Goodbye Humans, Goodbye Earth

**Hello, lovelies!**

**Boy, this chapter is long overdue, isn't it? I apologize for the delay. There was a bit of family drama that came up that I didn't anticipate. But it's mostly dealt with, so pending I stay out of the clutches of writer's block, updates for this and my other stories should resume at a semi-regular pace.**

**(Which is to say, as fast as they come to me.)**

**Please, please, leave me some love?**

**Kisses!**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

In the aftermath of things, someone had seen to the split knuckles of Adelaide's left hand. Good thing, too, because she hadn't even noticed they were there and would have ignored the injured in lieu of others things. Ya know, like a planet being obliterated and an entire race of beings almost forced into extinction. She suspected the white gauze wrapped around her left hand had something to do with Bones, even though he was now the CMO and tending to the surplus of hurting and bleeding on board the _Enterprise_. She felt bad for even using a bandage because there were so many other people that could have used that bandage much more than her, but it was already on her hand now, so what was the point? Besides, any protests she might have had (but didn't because it was all a blur in her memory of anger and grief) wouldn't have been listened to anyway.

Including Spock and the elders, the _Enterprise_ held maybe 500 Vulcans that Addy had seen. She'd freaked at first that that was _all_ they could save, but someone (a nurse? A yeoman? Who knows) told her a ship had left Vulcan in time and cleared the black hole with close to 10,000 lives on board. Which was much better than 500, but a far cry from _6 billion_.

So here they were, no Captain Pike, floating in empty space where a planet should be, and no real course of action. Now that she was First Officer, it was her duty to be on the bridge and help figure out the next plan of attack. Good thing Pike _had_ made her First Officer, because she was probably the best equipped to think of any situation when they were all so out of their depth already. Maybe, if she was extremely lucky, she could pull a rescue for Pike somewhere out of her ass. With that determination, she'd floated out of the overcrowded medbay and made her way to the bridge. She only noticed Bones was with her at the 'lift.

"What the hell are you doing? Get back to the medbay!" He pressed a button silently and gave her a look before crossing his arms and looking pensively at the doors.

"It's quieted in there, I can afford t'slip away for a minute or two. 'sides, I know that look in yer eye." Addy blinked.

"What look?" He rolled his eyes.

"Uh huh. Real convincin', Darlin'." Addy shrugged as the doors opened. She slipped through and back on to the bridge, once again without permission (not that she needed it this time, seeing as she was First Officer). Spock was pacing, his eyes distant and empty. Everyone was watching his movement tensely, waiting for the snap to come. Silently, Addy sat down, letting the Acting Captain gather his thoughts. In the meantime she looked over the bridge in an examination denied to her in that chaos of her first time trying to stop the ship from warping into certain death.

Everything was clean and sleek and bright. Not an inch of space was wasted or misused. The floor was black and waxed so well, she could see her reflection if she looked down. Stations were a soft glow of computer screens and scan readings and touch-pad buttons. The walls caved over there head in a soft dome shape and one side of it was replaced for a clear glass screen. There weren't any pictures or screens on it currently, but she knew if they were on a mission, that would be different. On the ceiling there were inset bulbs, some colored some not. The colored ones were off currently, those being saved for certain emergency situations. Something in Addy relaxed. She liked the bridge. She liked the bridge quite a lot.

Spock stopped his pacing in front of the glass, looking at the floor, his eyes glassy. Addy watched him attentively as he looked out the screen towards the black where his rust planet had been minutes before.

"As we have heard no word from Captain Pike," he said softly, his voice flat and empty, "I have classified him as a hostage of the war criminal Nero." The bridge was silent, accepting this in stride and waiting to see where he would take them next. He was quiet for a minute more, lost to his own thoughts, before he turned and looked at someone behind Addy's right shoulder.

"Lieutenant, have you confirmed that Nero is headed for Earth?"

"Their trajectory suggests no other option, Captain," Uhura confirmed. Addy frowned. So Nero wasn't appeased by Vulcan being destroyed, it looked like he had beef with the Federation in general. Which meant no Fed planet was really safe from his wrath. Jesus… that was _trillions_ of lives he wanted to meaninglessly end. Addy shook her head.

"Earth may be his next stop, but we have to assume every Federation planet is a target." Spock looked at her and twitched an eyebrow.

"Out of the chair," he admonished silently. She cocked her head confused before starting when she realized she was sitting in the Captain's chair. Damn. She hadn't even noticed that's where she'd ended up. And Bones was just standing there at her elbow all hidden smiles and biting on his tongue. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself out, crossing her arms in a pout.

"Why didn't he destroy us?" Sulu asked. "I mean, I guess I can understand. Why waste a weapon? We weren't a threat, but still." Addy shook her head.

"That's not it. Nero asked for Spock by name. Said he wanted Spock to see something, remember?" Sulu frowned. Spock nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Precisely. The destruction of my home planet." Bones' mouth tugged down at the corners.

"An' how the hell did he do that, by the way? When did the Romulans get so far ahead in the arms race?" Addy thought over it for a second. He was right. How did Romulans suddenly have enough technology to artificially produce a black hole? That was something way beyond anyone right now. If Addy had to hazard a guess, she would have said that the Vulcan Science Academy would have thought that up, but the Federation had made no such announcement, and the Science Academy had just been brutally destroyed. So there went that thought. No, the black hole matter had to have come from somewhere else.

'_Or some other time, perhaps?'_ a voice softly murmured to her. Addy wanted to scoff at it and ignore it as impossible at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Black holes distort everything around them and suck everything inside, including space and time. If space and time are distorted, theoretically, they could be used to travel between certain points in the continuum and _holy fucking shit those Romulans are from the future!_

"They didn't," she said, breathless in her revelation. Eyes turned to her in confusion because, hello, they obviously did if they just destroyed a planet. "Well, not in the sense you all are thinking. Think about it. They have the tech to _artificially create_ a black hole. What does a black hole do?" She waited for an answer, not really expecting one. Spock watched her with narrowed eyes. "They eat everything around them, including space and time. If space and time are distorted to a certain point around black holes that could suggest their place of origin."

"Wait…" Sulu said, trying to catch up, but refusing to see the obvious.

"Damnit kid," Bones grumbled, "I'm a doctor, not a physicist. Are you really suggesting they're from the future?" Addy looked at Bones, his face scrunched and unhappy, then Sulu, confused and disbelieving, then Spock, and she stopped. He had the perfect neutral Vulcan mask in place, but there was… _something_. She would almost say he looked… grudgingly impressed? But that wasn't possible because Vulcans didn't feel emotions. But still, she couldn't deny that he had a glimmer of, 'I didn't think a Human could have such an intelligent line of thought' air about him. And, no, that didn't flatter her, that pissed her off because how self-important could a guy be? Jesus.

"Kirk is most likely correct in her logical deduction. If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth," he said softly. All heads turned to look at him in surprise, like they'd forgotten he was there. So he was quoting Sherlock Holmes, now? Interesting. And Addy had to admit, she was a little smug that the _First Officer_ had made everyone on the bridge forget for a small amount of time that the _Acting Captain_ was present as well.

"How poetic," Bones snarked. Sulu looked between the two before shaking his head and looking down at his boots.

"Then what would an angry future Romulan want with Captain Pike?" Spock began pacing again, walking slowly in front of the glass screen.

"As an Admiral, he knows details of Starfleet's defenses," he supplied. Addy frowned. That was all nice and stuff, but why weren't they talking about an action plan for right _now_? They were just hashing things they already knew. They needed to talk about how they were going to take over the Romulan ship and infiltrate it in time to get Pike back. And _then_ how they were going to subdue a ship probably ten times the size of the _Enterprise_ with advanced future weaponry that could easily blast past their shields and obliterate them all. And all of this in time to save planet Earth from following the same fate as Vulcan.

"What we need to do is figure out how to catch up to that ship, disable it, take it over, and get Pike back." Everyone swiveled to look at her like she'd grown a third eye. She frowned and crossed her arms defensively. What? That was the only smart decision. Going to meet up with the rest of Starfleet was a ridiculous waste of time and instead of prepping the fleet for an attack, it would get them all killed and Nero would wipe out the Federation. This was the _only_ choice they had, and if they were smart about it, they could pull it off. She looked over to Spock, hoping to see in his eyes that he could follow her train of thought, but dismayed when all she saw was a cold rejection.

"Fantastic," Bones said bitingly, "I'm in." Addy glared over at her friend.

"Captain Pike left us with standing orders to rendezvous with the fleet on the other side of the quadrant. We are technologically outmatched in every way. A rescue attempt would be illogical." Addy straightened her arms and rolled her eyes. She got it. She really did. He was afraid. He would never want to admit to himself, let alone some puny cadet he viewed with nothing more than disdain. But Spock was afraid. And rightly so. Who wouldn't be frightened after seeing that kind of power Nero had? A black hole was nothing to laugh at.

"'Illogical.' You're funny," she snorted. Spock's lips twitched down slightly before he caught himself and walked to the empty Captain's chair (_her_ chair) and sat down.

"Not to mention," Chekov piped up sadly, "we could not owertake them unless they drop out of warp first."

"What about assigning Engineering crews to try and boost our warp?" she asked.

"Remaining power," Spock said blandly, "and crew are being used to repair radiation leaks–"

"Okay," Addy interrupted, but Spock kept talking like she hadn't said anything.

"on the lower decks and damage to the–"

"Okay, _okayokayokay_!"

"main deflector shield – without which we cannot communicate with the rest of Starfleet."

"I _got_ it!" Addy exclaimed, exasperated. "But there has got to be _some_ way!"

"We must gather with the rest of Starfleet to balance the terms of the next engagement." Dude, was he seriously suggesting that? That was, like, the best idea that was a 100% surefire way to get everyone killed. Spock, so dedicated to logic and rationality was _seriously_ suggesting the idea that they all commit suicide? Sure, Pike had said to meet up with the rest of Starfleet, but he also said to rescue him, and it had been a joke, but he'd still technically said it, and weren't Vulcans all about technicalities?

"Are… are you kidding?" she asked. "There won't _be_ a next engagement, Spock. By the time we've 'gathered' it'll be too late, and Earth will follow the same fate. How many planets are you willing to risk? We need to take him head-on and use the element of surprise on our side."

"To try and battle with Captain Nero results in a 96.8 percent chance of death. I fail to see the logic in your proposed solution." Addy rolled her eyes.

"The fact that it won't work is the only thing that _could_ make it work." The silence on the bridge spoke volumes. She huffed in impatience and strut around the bridge, her hands gestating wildly to help make her point. "Nero is never gonna think that we'll try and come after him. Why would he? Our weapons are useless, and same for our shields, and we're already half-dead as it stands."

"And that's supposed to convince us this'll work, kid?" Bones asked sardonically. She glared at him.

"He's never going to prepare for us to attack him because he _knows_ it's a stupid idea, so his defenses will be down. He's cocky, he's angry, and those emotions are clouding his judgment. We can use this to our advantage, and if we send the right people over, we can get Pike back and _then_ level the playing field for the 'next engagement.'" It was so simple. It was like she could see it as a web of possibilities in her head. Why couldn't everyone else see it? The web branched out like a tree, and there was one lighting up, brighter than all the rest, glowing with their best chance of success. It was always this way for her. Had been like this while she was in school, and while she was with Captain Garrovick. She could see the web, could see all the possibilities in her mind, and could see which one gave her the best chance for her desired outcome. It was troubling that no one else could see the world the same way, because when her ideas sounded outlandish like this… well, they sounded outlandish, and no one wanted to listen to her.

Spock regarded her for a long moment before turning his chair away and looking at the troubled Helmsman.

"Mr. Sulu, plot a course for the Laurentian System, warp factor three." Addy sprang forward, grabbing Sulu's hands, making the man jump. She looked at him with her best puppy dog impression she could muster.

"Sulu, don't do that." Addy let go of his hand only when she was sure he wouldn't run straight to the controls again and narrowed her eyes up at Spock. "Spock, running back to rest of the fleet for a confab is a _massive_ waste of time!"

"These were the orders Captain Pike issued when he departed from the ship."

"He _also_ said to go back and rescue him; did you forget that part, _Captain_?" Addy snapped. "Spock, you're the Acting Captain of the _Enterprise_ now–"

"I am aware of my responsibilities, Kirk!" Spock nearly growled. At least she was getting _somewhere_ with the piece of living stone, even if it was only belligerence.

"Then you have to be aware that every second we waste, Nero is getting closer to his next target!"

"Precisely, which is why I am instructing you to accept that I alone am in command." Addy gaped at him. Was he seriously trying to pull this shit? She was the First fucking Officer, thank you very god damn much. He was supposed to listen to her perspectives and her thoughts and take them into account before he ran away with his tail between his legs. Which is exactly what he was doing. Spock was afraid and angry and running away from the Big Bad Wolf without thinking if it was the _right_ thing to do, and he was completely ignoring Adelaide's very valid opinions. Fuck Spock.

Asshole.

"I will not allow us to go backwards–" Addy screamed, her anger boiling over the point that she could contain it.

"Addy, calm down!" Bones cried desperately.

"-away from the problem, instead of hunting Nero down!" Spock stood slowly from his chair, towering over her as he glared. His eyes burned brown and furious, but Addy held her ground. She was right. She knew she was right. She could _see_ she was right, and she wasn't going to let Spock's emotions that he didn't have put the ship and crew that she'd worked so hard to save already back in the line of danger.

"Security, escort her out," he ordered, his voice low and deadly. Addy glared right back at him. Her fist clenched. She was so ready to throw punches at this dickweed, and if they had been by themselves, she would have. As it stood, there were too many witnesses. She continued to glare up at her superior, unblinking, as two red shirts came up and grabbed her by her elbows, none-too-gently ushering her towards the door. She took about five steps, the whole bridge watching her in shock, before she snapped. What the fuck were they doing standing and looking at her when they needed to be listening! She knew what she was talking about, and Spock was obviously not thinking straight. Enraged, Addy stopped, making the two men at her sides jerk to a stop with her.

"Fuck this shit," she muttered. With a quick jerk, Addy yanked her right arm free and smashed her elbow into the man's face, dropping him to the floor. The other security officer tightened his grip on her elbow, but she used him as an anchor and twisted around her arm until she was standing at the man's side and elbowed him in the back of the head and watched as he dropped as well. She heard some loud exclamations, but she was so angry, so indignant, and so _desperate_ that she didn't bother to notice it was Bones crying for her to stop from his own red shirt officer. He'd been caught at the first sign of trouble when he'd attempted to spring forward to help separate his best friend from the fight. Addy, however, simply stood there as the first officer stood up, grabbing for his phaser. She kicked his leg, hard, and elbowed his gut, doubling him over, and reached for his phaser. If they weren't going to listen to her rationality, they were going to listen to the point of the stun gun. But she never got the chance.

There was a pressure on her neck, a blinding, white pain, and then nothing. Blackness swallowed Addy whole as her body went limp and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Coming to was a slow, painful process. Her head was pounding, and Adelaide's shoulder felt like it was on fire, but after a few minutes of simple, steady breathing, she could blink her eyes open without the light making her head throb in response. Addy took stock of her surroundings with growing anger and weariness.

She was in a single person escaped pod. She was in the only seat, and to her left, front, and right were glass window panes. She had a small computer screen by her left hand, and belts strapping her to the seat. There was a survival pack behind her with clothes for any climate, including a parka she would be pilfering, but beyond that, she was on her own. The glass was foggy with condensation, and she reached up (because, lucky her, she'd landed on her back) and wiped the glass clear to take a look outside. She was at the bottom of a pit of snow and ice she'd made upon her landing. The sky was gray with clouds, and she could see snow swirling in the wind above her, shifting directions every second. She glowered out the window and mashed a few buttons on her screen, bringing the computer to life.

"Computer – where the fuck am I?!" she growled.

"**Current location: Delta Vega. Class M planet. Unsafe. There is a Starfleet outpost 14 kilometers to the northwest. Remain in your pod until retrieval by Starfleet authorities.**" Addy unbuckled herself from her seat and kicked the pod's door viciously.

"Bite me, how's that?" she muttered. She kicked the door again, and it popped open with a hiss, a soft alarm beeping behind her. (What was with Starfleet and their fucking alarms!?) Frigid air froze her for a moment and she gasped, watching with dispassionate interest as her breath fogged in a cloud in front of her face. When she started shivering a few seconds later, she pulled and heaved herself so that she was standing on the outside and turned around to grab the survival pack and loop her arms through the straps. Addy looked up at the wall of ice she had to climb and sighed. She was going to fucking kill Spock if she ever saw him again. If he _lived_ (which he wouldn't) through his stupid plan, and Starfleet survived (which it wouldn't) Nero and remembered she'd been marooned here for mutiny.

With a growl of determination, she tightened the straps on her shoulders and began the climb. Within five minutes her hands were numb, but she kept at it. She slipped quite a lot, and her arms were screaming by the time she'd made the 30 feet and fell over the edge and took a break for rest, but eventually, Addy made it to the top. When she'd gained her breath again, she stood on her shaky feet, her head still pounding, and looked around. White. White and frozen and snow and clouds. That was all there was in every direction. This planet was a barren wasteland. Of all the fucking planets in this part of the system, he chose the one best designed to kill her if she got out of her pod. Addy stomped in a circle, furious, hoping that something she hadn't seen would be there, but there was nothing. Just constant winter. And stupid Spock and his stupid "Vulcan Pinch" had put her on this stupid freaking planet.

"YOU STUPID, FUCKING SONOFABITCH!" she shouted up towards the sky. "THERE'S NOTHING HERE, DICKWEED! YOU NECK-PINCHING MOTHERFUCKER!" Addy continued to shout obscenities that would have had Bones blushing like a schoolgirl if he'd been around, kicking snow flurries in to the air and tossing the bag around in her anger. She kept going until her limbs were shaking, and reason took over again, and she was cursing her stupidity for letting herself sweat in an environment where the sweat would freeze in seconds. She scrambled to open the bag and found a black parka, like she'd suspected, and quickly zipped it on, pressing a button for instant size adjustment. She pressed another button, and an internal heater kept it comfortable, but not stifling.

Grouchy and desperately wanting some color, she used some gravitational instruments to figure out what direction northwest was before packing them away again and setting off. Addy trudged through snow and ice, cursing how slick her regulation boots were and wishing Starfleet had enough foresight to pack snow boots as well. Simmering in her rage, she pulled out a communicator from her parka. If she was going to be marooned and brought to trial (which she wouldn't, because Spock had just destroyed the Federation), she was at least going to have a record of what happened to her without Spock's biased (he totally was) opinion. He may have been scared, but that was no fucking excuse for stupidity.

Or being a dick, for that matter.

"Stardate 2258.42… Or 44. Whatever. First Officer's log, supplemental:" she grumbled over the wind, "I'm preparing a testimonial for Starfleet court martial, assuming there's still a damn Starfleet left after what happened today. Acting Captain Spock – whose only form of expression's apparently limited to his _left damn eyebrow_ – has marooned me on the planet Delta Vega in what I believe to be a violation of Starfleet security protocol 49.09, in treatment –" Addy cut off when she heard something over the wind. It sounded like a howling growl sort of noise, and it sent shivers down her spine. She stopped walking and looked around her cautiously, but the snow was too thick, the wind too vicious, and she couldn't see anything. Shrugging, she went back to her testimonial.

"Security protocol 49.09, governing the treatment of prisoners aboard a Star – okay, what the fuck is that noise!?" Addy whipped around, sure she'd heard something this time. It sounded louder, and decidedly more menacing. She bit her lip and slowly closed her communicator, putting it back in her pocket. Her frost blue eyes looked through the snow, narrowing in her concentration and she didn't see anything – wait, right there! Off to her left, what was that? She looked at a dark shape moving through the frost until she realized with growing dread that it was moving toward _her_, and it was getting larger and larger. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw a great animal burst through the white that looked like a cross between a gorilla and a polar bear.

With a scream, she turned around and ran as fast as she could. She could tell by the _thump-thump-thump-thump_ of its feet and the low growl of victory that it was gaining on her, and shit, was this really how she was going to die? Well that… that just fucking sucked. If Adelaide died here, she was going to haunt Spock for the rest of his emotionless, bland life, damnit.

The ice beneath her feet cracked, and with a great roar, something sprang from the depths of the permafrost. Addy's body was flung through the air, and she wasn't ashamed to admit that she squeaked in surprise when she landed hard on her back. Dazed, she pushed herself up to see what new trial Delta Vega was throwing at her, and _holyfuckingshitwhatthefuckwasthat!?_

Addy gaped as a great monster, red and nasty held the polarilla (she was a little low on creativity at the moment because of _imminent death_, so sue her) limp in its mouth. The body was oblong and red like blood. There were hook like claws that it used as legs, jabbing through the slippery ice to stand its ground, and two little arms reminisce of a T-Rex hung useless in the air. The face is what frightened Addy the most, however. Its mouth opened vertical and horizontal, four flaps pulling away from its face to show off rows of razor sharp teeth and a long tongue used to wrap around its prey. It had hundreds of small, beady, black eyes around its mouth, and Addy had the distinct feeling they were all staring at her.

The great red beast shook the polarilla one time before tossing it through the air like a rag doll and turning on Addy. She lay in the snow, frozen in her terror, screaming at her body to move, but stuck like the ice blocks around her. When it pulled back the flaps for its mouth and roared at her, saliva and mucous flying through the air, she jumped and scrambled to her feet, running as fast as her feet could carry her. Her breathing was heavy, and she was shaking from trying to run from her _previous_ predator, but fear of dying kept her in motion, even though she could, again, hear the monster gaining on her. And then… Addy made a mistake.

She looked behind her.

The red thing was no more than ten feet away from her, its mouth splayed open, ready to swallow her whole. She screamed and pushed her legs harder, but where there had been snow and ice, there was suddenly empty air, and she fell over the edge of a cliff. She screamed again (this time in surprise) while she rolled down the side of the ice plateau she'd been dashing across. Sharp jabs of ice rock poked her every which way, and the sky and ground kept switching places in the small view she had from under her hood. It was making her dizzy, and above all this, she heard a roar of rage as the monster watched from above, his meal swiftly rolling away. She hit the bottom like a sack of rocks, yelping when she cracked her head on the frozen ground. She opened her eyes, dazed, and watched the whipping snow whirl around above her head in interest. She was going to have a nasty knot on her head later. And a damn headache. Damn, but this just wasn't Addy's day.

There was a loud crack and with an internal groan of, '_NOW what!?'_ she looked up to the mountain to see the snow shelf cracking beneath the monster's weight as it tumbled down after her. She gently put her head back against the ice for a moment of rest, hoping against hope that the thing would impale on a shard of ice, but the loud booms and crashes told her the universe wasn't going to play nice today, and with a great heave and groan of pain, she got to her feet once again. She didn't bother waiting until the thing got to the bottom, she just started running. She could hear when it landed a few second later, making confused growls of pain, and she didn't bother looking behind her this time. She scanned the area in front of her desperately, needing to get somewhere she could hide, and was surprised to see an ice cave off to her left.

Addy changed course instantly, hearing the beast now get to its feet (claws?) and stumble after her. It was picking up speed, and she could feel the ground beneath her vibrating with the force of its gait. She pushed her legs harder, really struggling to breathe at this point, and almost let out a whoop of joy when she entered the cave. She finally let herself turn around and gauge the threat and cursed when she realize the mouth of the cave was big enough for it to squeeze after her. She almost sobbed as she turn and hauled ass once again, cursing Spock, Bones, Nero, and everything she could think of. Her chest was on fire, her lungs screaming for a break, and under her parka, she had built up a disgustingly heavy sweat. Her boots kept slipping on this ice, sheltered from the wind and storms as it was, there was less snow to give her traction.

She felt rather than saw or heard the monster enter the cave, and small chunks of ice fell from the ceiling above her as the creature gave chase. Addy squeezed between two thick ice pillars but fell on her face when her ankle got stuck for long enough to make her lose her balance. Gasping for air that she couldn't get fast enough, she stayed there. She had no more energy. She couldn't run any farther. Addy seriously doubted she could even get to her feet without help, and there obviously was none. The red giant jammed its head between the two pillars, and Addy limply rolled her eyes down to her feet to glare at the thing. This was _really_ going to be the end, then. She'd expected more glory, more pomp, more adventure in her death. Certainly not like this, running and hiding in a cave on a planet she'd been exiled to for trying to do the smart thing. Fuck.

The creature barked in what Addy felt was a laugh (well that was just _rude_) and quick as a flash, wrapped its long tongue around her ankle. Weakly, Addy tried grabbing on to a mound of ice, anything that would keep her from her death, but it was useless. Her hands were frozen, and beyond that, she hadn't caught her breath yet and didn't have the strength to force her way out of this thing's grip. Resigned to her fate, Addy went limp and looked up at the ice meters above her, blue and wet. She jumped in surprise when the thing suddenly let her go and squawked in what she could only name as fear. She forced her head off the ground to look up and blinked at the figure standing between her and the red beat, waving a fire torch back and forth, slowly pushing it away from Addy and toward the mouth of the cave.

Addy chuckled, her head falling back to the ground. Her chuckles bubbled in intensity until she was laughing hysterically, tears running out the sides of her eyes, and she was clutching her stomach. She'd been so convinced that was the end, so sure she was going to die when suddenly _poof_, here comes this nameless person to save the day. The universe sure had a twisted sense of humor.

The person remained silent while she laughed and cried, letting Adelaide collect her wits and calm down. She didn't try and lift her head again until she could breathe normally (well, more than before at least), and she'd stopped laughing completely. Addy blinked her blue eyes heavily before lifting her throbbing head, squinting in the flickering firelight.

The man was tall. Like, not human kind of tall. He had a bulky gray parka on as well, and matching pants with black boots and gloves. His hood separated and folded over his shoulders to give the shoulders of his coat small poofs, making his clothes look regal and silly. His hair was silver, like starlight, and his face was heavy with wrinkles and age. He was obviously Vulcan, if his height and pointed ears and eyebrows said anything. But his eyes… they were so brown. So _humanly_ brown. She'd only seen eyes like that on Spock (there was obviously more to that Vulcan's family tree than he let on), and was surprised there was another (presumably) half-human Vulcan. Addy was surprised to see that this man's eyes were the most expressive she'd ever seen on a Vulcan. His face was, too. It was soft with joy and shock, and his eyes practically glowed with warmth and relief. She couldn't place exactly why, but she had the feeling she knew this man.

"The Hen-Gra," he murmured softly. Jesus, his voice was deep. It made her shiver and _ew_, because he had to be, like, 500 at least. "Notoriously afraid of fire."

"Uh… thanks," Addy responded distractedly. The man hesitated before nodding and extending a hand down to her. She looked at it for a moment, her eyes scanning over his face, but he didn't seem like a threat, and she was confident she could take him in a fight if need be, so she placed her hand in his, and was startled to feel the strength in his arm as he pulled her to her feet. Addy swayed precariously for a few seconds, her head throbbing and making the world swim, but ultimately, she stayed upright.

"Adelaide…" his whispered. Addy jumped. Shit. Had she actually met this man before? She couldn't remember...

"How did you find me?" he asked. Addy furrowed her brow.

"Excuse me?" Okay, now he'd lost her. Whether she'd met him or not would have absolutely no bearing on her knowledge of his location on this planet, so… what?

"Does Starfleet know of my presence?" Addy frowned and took a step away from him. Even if he felt familiar, his questions weren't adding up to something she felt comfortable calling normal.

"How d'you know my name?" she asked suspiciously. The Vulcan's eyes widened in surprise, then darkened in hurt. His lips pursed.

"Do you not recognize me?" his soft voice rumbled with sadness. Addy shifted.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded. He paused.

"I have been, and always shall be, your _t'hy'la_." Addy cocked her head. She knew a bit about Vulcan culture, but she hadn't studied the language extensively, let alone such a precious word. And she could tell, this word t'hy'la was very precious to this Vulcan before her. He said it almost reverently, his lips wrapping around the letters like the embrace of a lover. It softened something inside him, and he was filled with happiness and joy again, his eyes practically bubbling over with it. Addy felt almost guilty for not understanding.

"Okay. Uh… that's nice? I mean, I have no idea who you are, or what this _t'hy'la_ thing is, so…" she shuffled her feet awkwardly. The Vulcan looked down at her, his eyebrow lifting, and why did he look so fucking familiar?

"Fascinating," he whispered. "I have not seen you so young in many years, Adelaide." Addy crossed her arms.

"Okay, do you mind speaking plain English here? Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?" The Vulcan peered deep in her eyes for a long moment before nodding and straightening his already perfect posture.

"I am Spock, 130 years senior to the Vulcan you know." Addy's jaw dropped as she ogled at him. He had to be kidding right? Sure, his eyes looked almost the same, and his voice could very well be a carbon copy but for the wear with age and… no. No! This man couldn't be Spock!

"Bullshit," she breathed. His lips twitched. Was he covering a smile? Yeah, _definitely_ not Spock.

"You are Adelaide Paige Kirk. Your father is George Joseph Kirk, and your brother George Samuel Kirk. Your mother is Winona, and you were born in 2233 –"

"Okay, okay, Jesus, stop!" Addy yelled, taking another few steps away from him. There was no way he could know all of that unless he'd looked her up somewhere. Or he was Spock. But he wasn't. So he'd looked her up.

'_Great,'_ she mused, _'my first stalker, and it had to be a Vulcan?'_

Said stalker took a few steps toward her, and Addy jumped, backing away from him, her eyes narrow. He stopped, and his face fell before he slipped behind the bland Vulcan mask and walked past her.

"Come, Addy," he called behind him, "we have much to discuss and I fear little time to do so."

'_He fears? For a Vulcan, this guy is pretty Human…'_ she thought, grudgingly following after him when her stomach growled in pain. She had no other choice. It was either follow the mentally insane Vulcan man, or stay there and wait for the Hen-Gra to find her again.

When left with those options, Addy didn't have much of a choice, now did she?

* * *

**Dun-dun-DUN! Spock Prime makes an appearance, ladies and gentlemen! And I have a bit of a surprise in the next chapter for you because of S.P. Bwahahaha.**

**You'll just have to wait until I finish.**

**Reviews will help me post it faster *hinthint*. ( ;**

**Peace.**


	9. Stranger Things Have Happened

**Hello, loves!**

**Longest chapter yet! This one was actually really, really fun to right, but I'm not completely satisfied with it. How do you guys think I did the mind-meld? I feel like this is how it would have happened because humans are psy-null and as such, their minds aren't used to handling the presence of a Vulcan telepathic presence without instruction, unless they have, like, a crazy freaking amazing connection right from the get go. But we'll get more into that later. Maybe. I dunno. Might pop up in a different fic, keep an eye out.**

**Reviews, please! They are my fuel to keep going!**

**Kisses!**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

"It is remarkably pleasing to see you again, Adelaide," the Spock Imposter said softly, looking at the fire in the pit between them, his face darkening. "Especially after the events of today…" Addy tightened the grip she had around her knees, huddling closer in on herself and sighing.

"Look, man, I don't know how you know what you know. Maybe you hacked the Starfleet enrollment database, which isn't too hard, their cyber defense is for shit, but what I don't get is why. Why would you want to look up _me_ of all people?" she rambled nervously, pulling her right arm away to tug at her earlobe. "I mean, I get it, I guess. I am a certifiable genius, but what could you possibly want with me?"

"Nothing, at present," he replied softly. "I explained to you 4.6 minutes ago. I am Spock, obviously later in the timeline, but Spock nonetheless." Addy scoffed.

"Pal, if you're Spock, then you know that you and I aren't friends, let alone _t'hy'la_, whatever that is, so you're going to have to try harder than that. I appreciate what you did for me today, but if you want my trust, you're gonna have to come clean and be honest. Who the hell are you?"

"Vulcans do not lie," he said simply. Addy groaned in frustration and stood on her feet, pacing away her anxious energy.

"Spock hates me. We're not friends. At all. He marooned me here for mutiny!" This seemed to catch the man's attention. He looked at her sharply. So sharply that Addy froze, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Mutiny?" he asked, confused. "You are not the captain?" Addy looked at him, trying to see if he was joking, and chuckled mirthlessly when she saw that he wasn't.

"No, no I'm not, but I damn well _should_ be." She growled, angered all over again by the memory of being discarded like trash. "Spock's the Captain. Pike was taken hostage." Glaring at nothing, Addy walked away from the warmth of the fire, seething. Pike was very likely dead now, thanks to that pointy eared prick. The man that had first made Addy start believing in herself again, all those years ago on Earth, and he was dead. Killed at the hands of some psychopath from the future. Addy froze.

'_The future. Oh my god. Nero is from the future. If it worked once, why couldn't it work again..?'_ Slowly she turned around to look at her companion, and maybe it was the trick of the fire, but she saw him in a whole new light. The quirk of his eyebrow, the warmth of the chocolate in his eyes, and turn of his lips when he'd come across something puzzling, and yes… yes, she could see it. She could smooth out the wrinkles in her mind, and darken the hair and backtrack, and there was Spock. The very man that had marooned her on this hellish planet, but he was… different. Still Vulcan, but more emotional. And certainly more attached to her, if the lingering gazes were anything to go by. Holy _shit_.

"Spock?" she asked, dumbfounded. He looked up from his thoughts, his eyes sparking with surprise then warming. One corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly.

"Yes, dear one," he answered. Addy blinked, rubbed her eyes, and blinked again. She was seeing things. Was she seeing things? She had to be seeing things.

"But… but… I don't…" she floundered. "How did you..?" Spock stood to his feet and walked toward her, his right hand raised to her face, but stopped just before he made contact. She watched it warily. Weren't Vulcans all about personal space?

"Please," he said, "allow me. It will be easier."

"Whoa, whoa," she stopped him, leaning away from his hand, "what're you doing?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Our minds… one and the same…"Spock whispered. Addy paused. She felt like she was witnessing a moment too private, and looked away, but he waited until he had her consent. Silently, she nodded. He closed the remaining space and pressed three fingers to her face, one on her chin, one below her left eye, and the other on her temple. She felt a jolt of something roll around in her mind, and it rose up, swelling in strength. It was warm, and iridescent, and golden perfect _warmth_, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

'_127 years from now,' Spock's voice echoed in her mind, booming against her walls with power and wisdom, 'everything ends.'_

_Images flashed through her mind, too quickly to examine, but she could keep the memory of them. A star, burning white hot, caving in on itself. Dying. Then an explosion, and black space became a brilliant flash of colors and warmth._

'_A star in Beta quadrant will go supernova, and like a cancer left untreated, it will grow… and eat everything.'_

_Vulcans. Six of them. The room was dark. The air felt charged. Had they been arguing? No, Vulcans did not argue. Debate? Some did not agree. Why did they feel so scared? There! Spock, older, how he was in the cave, turned his face grave and resigned. He was accepting something. Determination?_

'_I saw the beginning of it myself. Vulcan Science Academy devised a plan to stop it.'_

_A ship. White. Curved, elegant. It was fast. She knew it was faster than anything in the galaxy. But that was not important. It was the cargo that was important. It was red, floating in the air of its own accord. Shiny. Red. Red matter. What red matter? Black hole. The means to save the Romulan planet._

'_We built a ship containing the only material capable of generating the only thing powerful enough to consume a supernova. A black hole.'_

_Inside the ship. Spock is turning things on, looking out the glass at the five Vulcans below him. He was sad._

'_I agreed to pilot the ship, knowing I would not return. My sacrifice, in service of all races, seemed only logical.'_

_Stars. The stars were flying. No.. that wasn't it. _They_ were flying, hurtling towards the exploding star. Spock sipped at some tea, frowning down at his cup. Fear. Afraid. He didn't want to die. Acceptance. It was the right thing to do._

'_Unfortunately, before I could complete the mission, the supernova destroyed Romulus.'_

_A planet, waiting, on the brink. Fire. Death. There wasn't even time for the planet to burn. It exploded, the core mixing with the supernova, the rock crumbling away to ash. Despair. Spock was too late. All those lives… lost. We were too late…_

Addy gasped, shoving his hand away from his face. What the fuck was that?! He was inside her mind, showing her what had happened, but it felt somehow… more than that. She _liked_ him in her mind. It calmed some beast within her she didn't even notice anymore, soothed her old scars and washed over her like a wave of ocean spray until she was shivering in anticipation and nearly melting with the force of her joy. Her eyes were watering, both for the despair Spock had felt at his failure, and with the urgent _need_ that her mind cried out with to connect with him again. She was barely holding herself on her feet, it made her so weak. His presence was everything she had been missing in her life, and Adelaide's very soul called out to Spock like a lost child. She could still feel the tingles of him at the back of mind, singing a song she couldn't place, but somehow knew by heart.

"Nero's planet was destroyed?" she asked, gasping. Spock nodded gravely.

"Yes. He blamed us, believing Vulcan allowed his planet to die. Which was hardly the case," he murmured almost petulantly. "Please, let me continue." Addy froze.

"No, no, I don't like this. This annoys me"

'_Yes, yes, yes, yes, please come back to me. I need you. Help me. I'm alone. Don't go. Please come home to me. Come back!'_

She shifted uncomfortably. Addy did _not_ like feeling so at Spock's mercy like this.

"I know, I know," he pacified, his hand still at the ready, "I am not surprised to hear you complain." She glared at him.

"Do we _have_ to do it like this?" Spock's eyes twinkled with mischief as he gently slipped from her grasp and pressed his fingers to her face once more. The song resumed full strength, and the golden glow spread to every corner of darkness, making her fingers tingle. She gasped as the images flashed once more.

_Spock. The ship. The supernova off in the distance, and Romulus gone. A crash. A boom. Alarms. He checked quickly. Torpedoes? A scan. The _Narada_. Nero's face flashed up on screen. Fury. Rage. Pain. Betrayal. Vengeance. His lips moved, but she couldn't hear his words._

'_Nero came after me,' Spock explained, 'determined to thwart the mission completely. If Romulus was allowed to perish, he said, all planet should share its fate.'_

_Spock dashing to the cargo hold. Giant ball of red. Red matter. Desperation. This would never work. It had to work. Would never work. The only way._

'_I realized, a large hole could consume the supernova. A smaller one… could be my escape. Could send me back in time, allowing me to complete my mission. It was a mathematically improbable chance, but I felt the only option left to me.'_

_Spock carefully extracted a single drop of red. Jettison canister. Sent out to space. Empty space. Black. Black. Romulus gone. Empty. Noiseless explosion, and a lightning storm in front of the ship. Spock ran back to the cockpit._

'_Nero must have realized what I was attempting to do, because he began racing for it.'_

_The _Narada_, zooming down towards the black hole. It disappeared through the black, consumed by gravity. Defeat._

'_Nero simply got to it first.'_

_Spock. Coming down on the black hole. Lightning crackling around him. Everything was white. So white. So heavy. Fast. Where was he going? Was he even alive?_

'_I cannot tell you how long I travelled; it was timeless. But when it was over… Nero was waiting for me.'_

_The ship emerges from the depths of the black hole and slows. The _Narada_, sharp and unforgiving loomed in front of Spock. Captured. On board. Nero. Resignation. Failure. Spock is going to die. He failed. This is the natural course of things._

'_He capture my vessel and spared my life, for one reason. So that I would know his pain. As he was helpless to save his planet, so would I be helpless to save mine.'_

_Delta Vega. Spock, stranded. Vulcan hanging, rusty and red in the sky. Then… nothing. No Vulcan. No Vulcans. 6 billion lives, gone. Spock closed his eyes. Grief crushed him, and he couldn't breathe. So many lives. So much potential. Sucked away like nothing. No Vulcan. No moonless nights, no hot deserts, no Vulcan Science Academy. Nothing. No Vulcan._

'_Billions of lives, lost. Because of me, K'diwa.'_

Addy gulped down air as the bond was broken once again, this time by Spock releasing her. Her lowered his hand from her face and watched her carefully. Tears swam in her blue eyes, making the world in front of her blurry. She felt like there was a gaping hole where her heart should be, screaming and bleeding in pain. She took a shuddering a breath and fell under the weight of such grief. Spock caught her gently in his arms, supporting her against his chest. The tears spilled over her eyelids, and she choked on a sob. From there, it was like a damn had broken, and a force she couldn't contain ripped out from her. She bunched his parka in her hands, and squeezed her eyes shut against the all-consuming _loss_ she felt. Her mind, out of self-preservation, shied away from such a painful feeling, but it chased after her, digging its claws through her flesh. She had no strength to push it away. It ate her from the inside out. Such loss, and grief, and guilt, and how was she supposed to live with herself anymore?

Spock made soft comforting noises, stroking her blonde curls gently. Her whispered words to her in a language she did not recognize (probably Vulcan), and it was not the words but his voice, soft and loving as it was, that made her calm down. She had no idea how long she stood there, sobbing into his chest, but when she calmed enough to simple sniffles, her eyes felt puffy and sore, and she knew that her face must be stained with snot and tears. Just like his coat. Well damn, that was embarrassing.

"S-sorry," she stammered, her voice not completely her own. "I ru-ruined your… your coat."

"It is forgivable, Adelaide. I failed to inform you that emotional transference is an effect of the mind-meld." She blinked up at him. Emotional transference? So that hadn't even been _her_ emotions? That meant he… but… how the hell was he keeping a lid on something that powerful? And mind-meld? Wasn't that something sacred between Vulcans? What the hell did _t'hy'la_ stand for exactly?

"So you _do_ feel…" she muttered, pulling away from him. He dropped his arms easily, and watched her as she withdrew into herself. Addy was by no means a Vulcan, but she didn't cry like _that_ in front of people anymore. Tears of frustration, even sadness, sure, but she never let herself go so completely like that. It made her feel weak and vulnerable. The song in her mind swelled, a lullaby of comfort calming her shame and any lingering feelings she had from Spock's intrusion on her mind. Addy stilled.

"'_Cthia'_ is the stricture that binds our emotions… but few of us are that perfectly Vulcan." Addy chanced a look up at his face. Concern, sadness, she could see it all, even clearer than before after experiencing his emotions for herself.

"What did you do to me?" she asked. He furrowed his brow.

"I do not understand."

"In my head. There's this… this song And I felt.. it was so warm. I…" she stumbled around for her words, frowning. "What did you do?" Spock looked down at his hands, pensive, before answering.

"Another unforeseen side effect, I surmise," Addy narrowed her eyes at him.

"What're you talking about?" Spock examined his own hands in silence before leveling her with a serious face.

"Adelaide," he said, "did you call out for that song?" She blushed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Spock frowned.

"I am aware of your pride, dear friend, but in this instance, I require an honest answer from you in order to respond to your question comprehensively." She bit her lip and looked away.

"I… I dunno. Maybe? It was just so _warm_, Spock, and it made me…" she drifted off, not sure how to describe the feeling of finally being whole the golden glow and song had given her. He sighed.

"Yes, Addy, I remember exactly how it makes you feel." She snapped her eyes over to him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"In my timeline, my Adelaide and I are bondmates. I theorize we may have inadvertently created a similar situation, though not developed as strong since it was entirely by accident and without consent from both parties." Addy gaped at him.

"Bondmates?!" she laughed disbelievingly. Had she heard that right? Was there wax in her ear? Her and… and _pointy ears!?_ This had to be some sick, twisted, sexy joke, right? Because Jesus, if they were bondmates then how was Spock still alive, and _waitwaitwait_... what were the perks like? Addy blushed at her thoughts. God, was there ever a time where she _didn't_ think about sex? Shit.

"Do you find this humorous?" Spock asked. If she didn't know him better, she would have said he sounded offended.

"No, no, sorry. It's just… you… and me? Especially younger you? You _hate_ me. The first time you met me, you called me a liar in front of the school board, and all my peers. And then you did your magic, Vulcan pinch thing and banished me to this stupid planet when I was the only one with a sensible idea." By the end of her rant, she was frustrated once more, though in light of learning how Spock was really feeling, her anger wasn't as… wrathful.

"Regardless of how I view you at present, in the time I come from, you and I share a deep and profound bond. This could be the reason you still hear the song in the confines of your mind, despite that the mind-meld is broken. You may have subconsciously reached for it and established a weak mental bond with me by accident in order to keep it with you." Addy slumped. So this was her fault? No, fuck that! He was the one that had wanted the mind-meld in the first place, and he was the one that had such a perfect, hypnotizing mind. He was the one that started this.

This was obviously all _his _fault.

"Whatever," she grumbled, sitting by the fire and pulling her knees once more up to her chin. Spock quietly sat down next to her, watching the orange flames dance in silence. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She would have given anything right then to know what he was thinking.

"Y'know," she muttered, "going back in time… you changed all our lives." Spock frowned.

"Yes, I am aware. Yet, remarkably, events within our timelines, people, events… seem to overlap significantly." Addy felt a small thread of hope wither away that she had known her father in the time this Spock came from. Spock turned to face her, the fire making his eyes dark and curious.

"Tell me about the rest of the crew?" he asked. "Chekov? Uhura?"

"Tactical and communications," she answered. Spock's face loosened in anticipation.

"Sulu..?"

"He's the helmsman. Why?" Spock turned back to the fire, lost in his own thoughts. She watched him curiously. What was he getting at? A small smile deepened his wrinkles in a not unpleasant way.

"Dr. McCoy would assert our meeting here is not a matter of coincidence… but rather, and indication of a higher purpose." Addy smiled painfully at the memory of her friend. She missed him. What was Bones doing right now? Was he back in the medbay? Had he yelled at Spock after Addy had been thrown off the ship? Aw, shit, what if Spock had thrown him off the ship, too? She frowned at that but shook it from her mind. No way Bones would go that far. His sense of duty would keep him with the injured, no matter how much he hated Spock for what he'd done.

"He'd call it a damn miracle," she whispered. Spock openly smiled then, the light dancing across his face.

"Yes he would," he agreed. "Perhaps this is the time stream's way of attempting to mend itself. You see, Addy, in both our histories, the same crew found its way onto the same ship in a time of ultimate crisis – therein lies the advantage." With purpose, Spock stood to his feet, stretching his legs for a second before looking down at Addy and extending his hand to her in assistance.

"Come, we must leave. There is a Starfleet outpost not far from here." Addy tentatively grasped his hand, using his strength to pull herself to her feet and watched as he walked toward a tunnel that presumably would lead them outside. Spock said the same people, the same events were mirrored in their respective timelines. Did that mean her father was…

"Spock?" she called before she could quell the urge. The Vulcan halted in his quest and looked at her over his shoulder. "Where you came from… did I know my father?" Spock considered her for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, Adelaide, you did. You often spoke of him as your inspiration for joining Starfleet." She hid a smile, looking off, trying to imagine what that life must have been like. Growing up knowing her father's laugh, his smile, the way his nose would crinkle like hers when they were deep in thought. Would he have been a doting father, showering her in pink, frilly dresses, or more the background voice of wisdom to her childish rebellion? Would she have him wrapped around her finger, or would she have been a daddy's girl, doing all she could to please him? What color would his hair look like in the sunlight? What words of advice would he offer her when she came home crying after another boy broke her heart? Would he retire from Starfleet to a life of quiet farming, or would he continue up the ladder, making a career out of space adventures? Would she have gone through Tarsus? Would she have been happy?

Would she have been loved?

"You should know," Spock said softly, startling her (when had he gotten so close?) "he proudly lived to see you become the youngest Captain in Starfleet history. Captain of the _Enterprise_." She stared at him, stunned.

"…Captain?" Spock nodded.

"Yes. A ship we must return you to as soon as possible. Now come. We have no time to waste." Dazed, she set off after her friend, pulling her hood up once more as they left the comfort of the cave and braved the biting winds. She pressed the button for warmth and sighed happily, even as snow stuck to her eyelashes. She stumbled in the snow that built up while they had talked, but he caught her easily. Addy blushed when instead of allowing her to trudge after him, he held her hand firmly in his and continued on without a word. Even though their skin wasn't touching, the melody swelled gently.

Why did she _always_ have to be the one to find trouble?

* * *

It took five minutes for Adelaide to be completely done with this shit. It wasn't just winds anymore. It was a fucking planet-wide blizzard. And the sun was setting. And it was hard to see. And even with the built-in heater, she was cold. And there was snow inside her boots, and she couldn't feel her feet. And she was hungry. And her head still hurt. And she was going to kill Spock when she saw him again. Well… younger Spock.

"I AM SO PISSED OFF AT THE OTHER YOU RIGHT NOW!" she shouted over the howling winds. She felt a squeeze on her hand, but Spock Prime made no reply. She grumbled to herself. If she ever saw that black-haired, brown-eyed sex god again, she was going to give him a real whatfor. Addy jumped out of her angry mutterings when Spock yanked her to a halt and pointed to something off in the distance. She squinted, just barely making out the glow of an electric light through the whiteout. She squeezed his hand at the welcome sight. He squeezed back. She couldn't judge distance very well in weather like this, but if Addy had to guess it was maybe… half a mile? Whatever it truly was, it felt like ages had passed before Spock was pulling the door open and they were both falling through the doorway. With a satisfying _CLANG_, Addy pulled the door shut behind them.

A long tile corridor, dank with mildew and must, extended in front of them. Lights swung and flickered in the storm that had raged through the open door. Spock and Addy looked at each other, their breathing slightly labored at the quicker pace they'd adapted when they saw the yellow light through the snow. She was the first to look away when she heard the distinct sound of metal hitting the floor and a loud yelp of pain.

"Hello?" she shouted. The yelping stopped, and Addy held her breath when a dark head shape peeked around the corner at the end of the hallway. She could barely make out a table with some scraps on it in the glow of a lightbulb in the other room. Following the head was a body as a short being jogged down the hallway towards Addy and her friend. The pair waited patiently as a short alien man came to a slow stop in front of them. He had loose clothes on, and a leather apron on with tools sticking out of the pockets. His skin looked hard like rocks, but shined as if someone had dutifully polished him with oil. His eyes were bulbous, and opaque obsidian. The only way she could tell he was looking at her was the way the light reflected off them as they shifted directions. His nose was small and flat, and she didn't even notice his mouth until he spoke in a guttural, soft, but surprisingly gentle voice.

"…Can I help you?"

"Are you the station chief?" Spock asked. The alien looked them over, seeming to decide something before he answered.

"…No. This way." And without so much as a sniff, he turned around and started to trot down the hall toward the room with the table and scrap. Spock looked at Addy and she shrugged before following after the short host, glad that she could feel her fingers again, but still grumpy about the wet feeling in her boots. It wasn't long before the couple reached the mouth of the hallway, and the room was a lot bigger than Addy had assumed. It was more a small warehouse than a simple outpost. There was a shuttle, mostly hidden under tarp, metal scraps and bits _everywhere_, tables all over the place, and oil stains on the floor. The alien weaved his way through the mess, and Addy could see he was leading them toward a human man, asleep at his station with his feet propped up on a table and a hat over his face. He wasn't in uniform, but it was a pretty safe assumption that he was Starfleet (what with this being a Starfleet outpost and all). He was in grimy pants, a shirt that might have been white in a past life, a thick coat, and a scarf. The man snored lightly beneath the hat, and Addy stifled a giggle behind her hand. The alien made a grunting noise and smacked the man's legs, waking him with a start.

"Wha – wha… what is it?" the man snapped, not removing the hat. Adelaide raised an eyebrow at the thick, rolling Scottish accent. She'd always liked Scottish accents. Something about the way they rolled their r's.

"Visitors," the alien replied. The man stilled and slowly lifted a hand to pull the hat away, and Addy could see one twinkling eye narrowed in her direction. He looked her over before moving on to Spock. With a grunt, he removed his legs from the table and removed the hat, placing it back on his head. He sat forward in his chair, glaring at the newcomers unhappily.

"Do you know how unacceptable this is?" he demanded. Addy frowned. She _knew_ he did _not_ just take that tone with her.

"_Excuse_ me?" she retorted, placing her hands on her hips. (Well, she tried to, anyhow, but the parka was bulky and made such precise movement difficult, so she kind of fumbled with her arms for a moment before giving up and letting them drop back to her sides with an embarrassed flush.)

"…Fascinating," Spock murmured. Addy frowned over at him, and a look at his sparkling eyes, and she realized this man in front of them was someone that Spock Prime recognized from the future. Judging by the crackling energy around him, it was someone he knew quite well, and could probably help them in their mission to get back to the _Enterprise_.

"Huh?" she asked intelligently (only not). Spock simply shook his head at her. The officer in front of them frowned and stood, crossing his arms. He was rather short for a man. Maybe only an inch taller than Addy, and she stood proud at 5' 10".

"I'm sure it's no' your fault," he grumped, "and I know youse two are just doing your jobs, but could you no' have come a wee bit sooner!?" Addy frowned, seriously confused. What the hell was this man rambling on about? He had them confused with someone. Did he think they were here with rations?

"Six months I've been living on nothing but Starfleet Protein Nibs and the promise of a real food delivery!" he shouted, waving his arms frantically. "Six months! It's pretty clear what's goin' on here, isn't it? Punishment! Ongoing! For something that was _clearly_ an accident." Addy opened her mouth to set the record straight, but Spock beat her to the punch.

"You are Montgomery Scott," he said simply. The man's head bobbed and he rolled his eyes as if to say, 'Yes, yes, I know who I am, can we move on!?'

"So you _do_ know him," she stated. Spock lifted an eyebrow at her.

"How did you realize that I found him familiar?" She shrugged.

"Dunno. It was just… something about the air around you. And your face is not as well-guarded as you might think." He chewed on her words for a moment before turning back to the disgruntled Mr. Scott, even more put off now at being ignored.

"Yes, Scotty, that's me. I mean, do you see any _other_ hard-working and equally-starving Starfleet officers around?"

"Me," grunted the short alien. Scotty whirled on him, throwing his hands in the air.

"_You!_" he snapped. "You eat nothing. A bean, and you're done for a week. I need food, I'm talking about _real_ food. Preferably a sandwich. But you two are here now, so… thank you. Where is it?" He turned back to the pair, looking at their empty hand suspiciously. Addy didn't even have her pack anymore. She'd lost it at some point running away from the Hen-Gra.

"You are in fact," Spock continued as if Scotty had never mentioned food, "the Montgomery Scott that postulated the theory of trans-warp beaming." Scotty's scowl deepened.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about! How d'ya think I ended up here? I got into a debate with my professor on the issue of Relativistic Physics as they pertain to subspace travel." Addy perked up. She'd taken that class for her degree. She knew that teacher. His name was Professor Captain Jones Ruskin, and man he'd sure been a hardass. She didn't blame Scott for knocking heads with the guy. She had, too. More than once.

(And she'd won every time, just so you know.)

"He seemed to think that the range of transporting something, say a roast turkey, was limited to about a hundred miles. So, I told him not only could I beam a bird from one planet to an adjacent planet in the same system – which is easy, by the way – but if I were so inclined, I could actually do it with a life form! So I… tested it on Admiral Archer's prize beagle…" Scotty's voice tapered off guiltily at the end, losing the momentum he'd previously had, and he scratched at the back of his head. So _that_ was where the rumor had started? There'd been a time on campus that people were saying someone had made played a game of poker where Admiral Archer (notoriously known for his gambling problems) had bet his dog and lost only to disappear into the night. Addy had known it had been hogwash, but no matter how far she dug, she hadn't ever been able to find the truth on the dog's disappearance.

"Hey, I know that dog!" she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at the engineer. "What happened to it?" He shrugged apologetically.

"I'll tell ya when it reappears. Dunno. Feel guilty." Addy chuckled, shaking her head. She couldn't fault the man for his actions. He was obviously gifted with engines. Addy was too, considering how elbow-deep she'd spent most of her childhood in them, taking them apart then building back up even better. If she'd been in his position, she would have done the same thing.

Still, that had been a beautiful dog.

"What if I told you," Spock interjected, "that your trans-warp theory is correct? That it is indeed possible to beam aboard a ship that is travelling at warp speed, and that you only required the correct field equation to recrystallize the dilithium?" Scotty scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I haven't been stationed here _that_ long. If such an equation had been discovered with my name on it, I'da heard." Spock pursed his lips, judging something in his mind before plowing ahead.

"The reason you have not heard of it, Mr. Scott… is because you have not invented it yet." Addy tensed, waiting for the laughs and yep, there they were. Scotty threw his head back and laughed long and hard, clutching his stomach. She tapped her foot impatiently until he'd finished and looked them over again, an amused twinkle in his brown eyes.

"Y'from the future, then?" he snorted. "Brilliant. D'they still have sandwiches where you're from? Piece and jam? Mince 'n tatties? Cockaleekie soup?" Addy furrowed her brow.

"He's from the future" she muttered to, nodding towards the tall Vulcan. "I'm not."

"If you will allow us access to your shuttle and your beaming pads, I will show you what a genius you truly are, Mr. Scott," Spock proposed. Addy was stunned at the flash of jealousy she felt for Scotty when Spock acknowledged him as a genius. For all the older Vulcan had spoken about his Adelaide, he'd never said anything about her intelligence, and Addy _knew_ she was a genius (no, seriously, they'd had her tested after Tarsus). The golden threads of music in her mind whispered softly to her, and she looked down at her feet, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, let alone Spock's. She shoved her irrational emotions to the side. She'd only just met Spock, and this bond thing was an accident. She didn't need to be pining after a 150+ year old alien.

That was a level of kinky even Adelaide wasn't willing to touch.

Scotty looked up at Spock, and Addy could tell the man was intrigued, but stubborn enough to call them crazy and kick them back out into the cold. You can be sure Addy would fight until she was passed out before she let _that_ happen.

"A'right," the engineer acquiesced with a short nod. Addy and Spock followed him over to the shuttle hidden behind the dingy gray tarp. Scotty gave it a few good tugs, and it crumpled to the floor, discarded. Addy wanted to cringe in pain for the poor shuttle. It looked like a wreck. Panels of sheet metal were missing, exposing colorful wires and nuts and bolts. The engines were totally shot and torn apart, and suddenly, Addy realized where all the metal on the tables came from.

"She's a wee bit dodgy," Scotty apologized. "Shield emitters are banjaxed, along wi' a few other things." Spock ignored the man and took the few steps to the interior. Addy and Scotty shared a look, and she blinked at him before following after the Vulcan. She looked around curiously, noticing with no small amount of amusement that the interior seemed to be in much better condition than the exterior. Spock had already found the console for the beaming pads that took up the very rear of the craft, and was speed-typing an equation into the computer. Addy raised her eyebrows, impressed at the speed. Scotty whistled low behind her.

"…Rapid. That's some fancy finger work ya go' there." Addy snorted softly and walked around the beaming pads. Each one was separated by a foggy glass pane. This shuttle was ancient. Beyond ancient. It should be a pile of rust. She was further impressed with the skills of the Scottish engineer at how he could upkeep a gimpy shuttle for so long and still have bits that were salvageable as scrap. Spock stood from his seat and gestured to the screen for Scotty to take a look.

"Your equation for achieving trans-warp beaming," he said softly. Addy would interrogate Spock or Scotty for it later. She wasn't interested in it now. The engineer, however, was extremely interested, despite his skepticism. He gave Spock a look that clearly said what he thought of this prank before rolling his eyes to the computer screen. His sardonic smile slowly dropped in place of a dumbfounded face, then quiet awe, and finally settling on delight.

"Imagine that! It never occurred to me to think of space as thing's that's moving," he muttered. Spock raised an eyebrow at the screen pointedly.

"Point of fact: it did occur to you," he replied, pushing buttons on the console. Addy jumped when the beaming pads choked and spluttered to life. And she was supposed to stand on this thing, let it split her molecules, and trust it to use the equation correctly to send her body to the _Enterprise_ and put it back together safely in one piece?

Peachy.

"Extrapolating _Enterprise's_ course…" Spock muttered. Scotty tore his eyes away from the screen at that, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"_Enterprise_? Has her maiden voyage, has she?" he asked, looking over at Addy. "Well, you must've done something right to be assigned to that ship, kiddo. She is one well-endowed lady. I'd like to get my hands on her ample nacelles, if you'll pardon the engineer parlance." Addy giggled, waving him away. She decided it was best to keep exactly _how_ she'd been "assigned" to the _Enterprise_ to herself.

"Well now's your chance, Scotty." He grinned for a moment at her, but quickly frowned at a thought in his mind.

"Look, even if I believed you both – where you're from, what I've done, which I don't – we're still talking about slingshotting aboard while she's goin' faster than light! Without a proper receiving pad that's like tryin'a hit a bullet with a smaller bullet, wearing a blindfold. On a horse." Spock moved away from the console over to a smaller computer screen, his fingers flying over the right keys.

"I calculate no more than a four meter margin of error," he soothed. Scotty laughed sharply.

"That's all well an' good until you've rematerialized four meters outside the ship." Addy winced at the mental picture.

"Agreed," Spock said simply. "The aft engineering bay is your best logical option. A large space and no unpredictable airlocks." Scotty made an approving noise and turned back to the screen and stared at the equation for a moment more, tweaking a few buttons of his own before he stood up and walked around the pads, looking for any last-minute repairs he might have to jerry-rig. He stopped and glared at the small alien that had somehow found its way up by the top of the pads, balancing in a space between the glass panel and metal bars holding it in place.

"Get off there! It's no' a climbing frame!" The black eyes swiveled to look down at Scotty and he blinked when the engineer walked away. Addy rolled her eyes even as she smiled, and walked over to the alien.

"Would ya like some help?" she asked. He turned his attention to her and blinked again before he nodded and extended his arms. She scooped him up easily surprised at how light he was and set him lightly on the ground.

"Do you have a name?" He cocked his head at her.

"Keenser." Addy nodded.

"Pleasure. I'm Addy." Keenser looked up at her for a moment before walking off.

"I know."

Addy shook her head and walked over a pad to where Spock was finalizing the finishing touches. She had a bad feeling about how he'd said 'a ship we must return _you_ to' earlier in the cave. Like she was the only one going back to the _Enterprise_. The melody in her mind changed, sad and longing, and she gasped softly. Before she realized what she was doing, Addy had bunched up the back of Spock's coat in her hands. He paused and looked down at her.

"You're… you're coming with me, right?" she whispered. He brought his eyebrows together and his eyes clouded over sadly. The longing intensified. He turned to face her directly and shook his head.

"No, _t'hy'la_, that is not my destiny." Addy's face fell.

"Your destiny can wait! He… the other Spock is _never_ gonna believe me!" she exclaimed desperately. "Only you can explain wh –"

"Under _no_ circumstances may he be made aware of my existence. You must promise me this." His voice was firm and unwavering, broaching no room for argument. Addy's face soured in anger and she let go of his coat to cross her arms. She wouldn't cry, even though it felt like akin to how Spock's emotion had transferred over to her. She refused to cry like that again. Just another man that had gotten her hopes up and was letting her down.

"You're telling me I can't tell him I'm following your own orders? Why not?" Spock raised a wrinkled hand and cupped her cheek, guiding her face to look at his. She tried to keep a hold on her anger and hurt, but when his skin touched hers, the golden light flared to life and the melody rang with such joy that she found she couldn't stay angry.

"You must try me, Adelaide. Above all, this is one rule you cannot break. To stop Nero you alone must take command of your ship." Addy scoffed, gently pushing his hand away from her so she could think clearer.

"How," she grumbled, "over your dead body?" Spock hid a smile in his twinkling eyes.

"Preferably not," her murmured. "There is, however, Starfleet Regulation 619." Addy blinked at him and a look of knowing passed over his face.

"Yes, I forgot how little regard you have for such things. Starfleet Regulation 619 states that any commanding officer who is emotionally compromised by the mission at hand must resign said command." Addy frowned, confused. She'd felt Spock's own emotions in her body. She _knew_ how emotionally compromised he was. Grief and pain such as that would compromise anybody's judgment, Vulcan or no. So why was Spock talking to her like he didn't feel a thing?

"So you want me to emotionally compromise you? I don't understand…" Spock shook his head gently.

"Adelaide, I just lost my planet. I am emotionally compromised. What you must do… is get me to show it." Oh. Well. Shit. Was _that_ all she had to do? Addy huffed, glowering up at the taller Vulcan. Did he have to make _everything_ difficult?

"Aye then, lass," Scotty said behind her from one of the pads. "Live or die. Let's get this over with. The _Enterprise_ has a decent cafeteria, I'm guessing?" Addy gave Spock one last hard look before she stepped on to the other pad. She watched with a grudging amusement through her frustration and sense of loss (_why oh why can't he come with me? I need him. I want him. Keep him close. Please stay with me!_) as Scotty lightly shoved Keenser off the pad.

"No," he said firmly, "go! You cannae come wit' me" Keenser made a sort of choking, gurgling noise that alarmed Addy, but she settled when she surmised that that alien was merely frustrated and squawking at his human companion. Addy watched Keenser climb up on one of the gasoline vats and give her a small nod before she turned back to Spock over by the control and the equation. She bit her lip, debating whether she could jump from the pad, grab him, and jump back on in time after he hit the button, but her mind gave her an immediate no. There were too many accidents with transbeaming where people got to their desired destination, but sometimes only in pieces, and she certainly didn't want to experience _that_ first hand. And she had a suspicion that Spock would be greatly unhappy with her if she didn't listen to him. She didn't understand why he was trying to convince her it was a bad idea when he knew full well the bond in her mind would be telling her a completely different story. He'd implied there would be bad consequences if he met his younger self, but he'd technically never said so, and as such, never technically lied, and weren't Vulcans all for embracing technicalities?

Still, she would honor his wishes, if only because she didn't want to disappoint him, as silly as that sounded.

"Ya know… coming back in time, changing history," she said, "that's cheating." Spock gave her a pointed, warm look.

"A trick I learned from an old friend." She smiled and stood straight as Spock raised his right hand in what was known throughout the Federation as the Vulcan salute, face solemn. "Live long, and prosper."

Addy stood tall as Scotty waved at Keenser one last time as Spock flipped the final switch, and her beaming pad started to glow. She heard the motors buzzing beneath her feet and her skin itched with that familiar tingle of pressure as her molecules were split and scattered through space. Bright white light wrapped around her, and she felt like she was being pushed and pulled and yanked and squashed in every direction.

There was something about beaming that Adelaide decided she very much did not like.

* * *

**Alright. So. The surprise. The bond. Addy is now halfway bonded to Spock, whaaaaaat? I am going to have fun playing with that in the future.**

**/evil cackle**

**Tell me if it was a good idea/bad idea in your reviews. I love all the happy support, but seriously guys, I need some constructive feedback. Yes, there are typos, I realize that, but what else do I need to work on? Are my characters weak/realistic/too outrageous? Does the plot flow well? Is it too choppy? What are my strengths? What do I need to improve on? It would be a big help if y'all could let me know!**

**Thank you so much, loves!**

**Peace.**


	10. Bringing On The Heartbreak

**Hey guys!**

**So... sorry for the delay in an update. There were many big changes in my life, and they kind of all sapped some of my will to write, and I had to put all my fics away for awhile. But, turns out, there are some hands things about having chronic insomnia. One of them being I have a lot of free time at night, and inspiration seems to strike me when I am tired.**

**Thanks to you all for the wait. We should be picking this and a couple other fics of mine here shortly.**

**Kisses,**

**MD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any part of the franchise. I gain nothing from writing this other than creative satisfaction.**_

* * *

Amid the whirs and roar of the ship's plasma drive, Adelaide found it necessary to check and see her whole body had been put together correctly. She didn't doubt Spock's or even Scotty's wherewithal when it came to getting her here… but an old beaming pad is an old beaming pad, and her faith had _not_ extended to that broken, decrepit ship. As soon as the light disappeared, her hands flew over her body, checking for any wounds or missing pieces, and she let out a deep sigh of relief when she felt she was completely put together to her satisfaction. Grinning, she looked to her left where Scotty had been standing, but instead of the hungry Scottish man, she saw a large, metal tank. Her grin fell. She ran up to the metal and banged on it hard.

"Mr. Scott!?" she shrieked. To her dismay, he banged back from the inside. Cursing profusely, Addy watched as he was sucked from the tank and traveled up a few feet through the tube of water, stopping at a clear portion. His eyes were wide with fear as a current suddenly sucked him away.

"No! Shit!" she yelled, running after him. She stopped when the tubes started twisting in on themselves and followed their course with her eyes, squeaking in surprise at the large turbine tank at the end. It was a filter for the ships water they have to recycle, and Addy remembered learning about it, but she was so panicked, she couldn't remember why there were metal blades in the tank. Just that they were there. And Scotty was headed right for them. However, there was also a release valve right before the tank that he would have to pass over first, and if she could just get that open…

Addy hauled ass to the control, her fingers a blur as she pressed controls on the touch screen and the buttons on the side, overriding the security protocols and timing it just right so that it would open when Scotty passed overhead. She'd never had to hack something so fast in her life.

"**Turbine release valve – activated,**" the computer voice told her. With a whoop of joy, Addy turned around as the hatch opened and a waterfall of water dropped a screaming Scotty the twenty feet to the floor. Addy ran through the last of the water drop off before the valve shut automatically, not caring that her hair and coat were a little wet. She knelt down, gently shaking Scotty's shoulder to get a reaction from the man that had yet to move a muscle.

"Mr. Scott?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

With a groan he shoved himself off the ground and coughed up a mouthful of water, panting. His face was red and his eyes were wild. She grinned at him.

"Mah head's buzzin' and I'm soaked, but otherwise m'fine," he groaned. Addy clapped him on the back and helped him to his feet, careful to not let go before she was sure he could stand on his own.

"Right," she said, "bridge is this way." Scotty nodded tiredly. She didn't miss the appreciative glance he gave the water pipes. She could almost see the gears in his mind turning. Shaking her head, Addy jogged away, climbing onto the walkways among the tanks of plasma and dilithium for the warp core. It was a confusing maze of twists and turns, but any ship had the sense that if you went up high enough, it would lead to somewhere else. Preferably a turbolift straight to the bridge. Addy threw apologies over her shoulder at the numerous workers she had to shove out of her way and dart past, already gone by the time the red shirts had worked up a good glare. She was pleased to note that Scotty, for all his complaints of starvation and mistreatment, was able to keep up with her demanding pace.

When she turned a certain corner she stumbled in her haste to slow down and switch directions when Addy found herself on the wrong end of a phaser. She stopped, however, when she whirled around and she found two more guns closing distance. She frowned at the taller man in front of her. He was bald-ish, with a beard and… man, he looked familiar. Aw, hell, he wasn't one of her ex's, was he?

"Come with me," he snarled, "_Cupcake._" Addy's eyes widened before she smirked up at that man.

"Man, you sure can hold a grudge, ya know that?" He narrowed his eyes and aimed the phaser dead center on her chest. Her smirk widened and she threw up her arms. "Yeah, yeah, we're coming."

'_Not exactly how I was planning to show up on the bridge, but this'll do just the same,'_ she thought. Scotty was panting behind her and she threw him a supportive smile before turning and following after her cupcake. She frowned when the thought came up that maybe they were being taken straight to the brig, and then she'd have to break out and that would just suck, but she shook her head. No… the ship was at warp, and Spock would be too curious how they were here to just toss them in the brig. So she would go wherever he would be, which would obviously be the bridge. Now how was she supposed to get him to show the emotions she knew were roiling around inside his head?

Spock had years of Vulcan meditating and teachings behind him on binding his emotions close to his soul and hiding them behind layers and layers of logic and reason. Losing his entire planet and his mother was definitely going to crack all of those, but then again, they were the only reason he was functioning right now. She felt conflicted at the ideas that came to mind as to how she was going to get this man to show his anger, pain, and grief. None of them were very nice. Any grudges she held against him didn't matter in the light of how she was going to have to make life worse for him. So much worse that he couldn't contain it anymore and he had no other choice _but_ to show his pain to everyone. Any frustration she held was lost with the knowledge that she would be the bad guy. It was for the good of everything, in light of Spock's decision to run with his tail between his legs, but that didn't negate the fact that she was going to be crippling a man emotionally. Really, the only options she had were to prod at his apathy at the 6 billion lives lost like they were nothing, and if all else failed, his mother. She really, _really_ didn't want to go there, but if she had to… she would.

Addy was surprised to find that her dark thoughts had taken her through the _Enterprise_ without her having paid attention, and she was about to step on the bridge. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Scotty who gave her an encouraging smile as the doors whooshed open. Scotty and her were pushed through, and she glared back at Cupcake, before looking around the bridge. Bones was here looking at her like she'd just come back from the dead. She smiled at him, relieved he'd acted like she thought and stayed on board. She wouldn't have been able to do this if Bones wasn't here on her side. She was already having to face this situation without Spock Prime (_where are you? I need you. Please come home. I miss you._); doing it without Bones would have been impossible. And speaking of Spock…

Her eyes found him easily enough. He was the tallest person in here. Taller, even, than the older Vulcan standing next to him. With how relaxed Spock was standing that close to another, Addy assumed he was a relative of some sort. Most likely his father. Addy looked up at Spock's face, as neutral as ever, but she could see past that all now. She could look in his eyes, and to her surprise, she could still see all the emotions Prime had openly expressed. Confusion, anger, suspicion. Granted, she had to look harder than with his older counterpart, but if she pushed past all the bland neutrality, they were there. Glimmering in the background.

Spock walked over to where Addy and Scotty stood, standing tall above the two humans. He raised an eyebrow at her. She grinned cockily.

"Surprise," she said, her voice teasing and singsong. He turned away from her to look at Scotty, ignoring her.

"Who are you?" he demanded. Addy held back a gasp. The song in her head flared even stronger than it had on Delta Vega during the mind-meld, and her knees nearly knocked together, making her collapse. The sudden force of it was startling. His voice rolled around inside her head, and memories of what it had felt like to have his older counterpart caressing her mind with his own shook her core. It was through sheer force of will that she kept her struggle off her face and stood upright despite the deep, velvety bass of the Vulcan in front of her. What the fuck? Hadn't she bonded to Spock's older self by accident? Why was it responding like she'd just finished a mind-meld with the Spock in front of her. Scotty looked over at Addy. She shook her head. He frowned.

"I'm with her," he answered. Addy smiled prettily up at Spock, her heart hammering away in her chest.

"Yeah. He's with me." Spock's lips tensed as he hesitantly looked down at her again. She fearlessly met his gaze, cocking her head to the side.

"We are at warp speed," he stated calmly. "How did you manage to get aboard this ship?" Addy shrugged, looking over him dismissively.

"Well _you're_ the genius," she mocked. "_You_ figure it out."

"As Acting Captain of this vessel, I order you to answer the question." Addy's smile dropped and she crossed her arms. She stamped down her guilt and (weird) affection she felt and called on all her anger at him, trying to push as much heat and scorn into her words as she could manage. All her shame at being humiliated in front of the board, her frustration when he wouldn't listen to her plan earlier, how he'd knocked her out and thrown her away like garbage, how she'd almost died_ – twice_ – on an alien planet because of him. She remembered it all and let it turn her blood hot as she narrowed her eyes.

"Well, _Acting Captain_," she scorned, "I'm not telling." Spock stared at her silently, and she could feel the shock in the rest of the bridge, though, really, had they expected her to duck her head and submit to his interrogations? Granted, they were all still reeling from the fact that she was even _on board_ the ship at warp, but didn't she have a reputation? If Addy was known for anything it was being stubborn. So did they _really_ expect her to just roll over and fess up?

"What, that… that doesn't make you _angry_ now does it, my lack of cooperation?" she asked. Spock gave her a hard look before turning his whole body away from her, and zooming in on Scotty.

'_Oh no you won't,'_ she thought, _'I'm the one you're gonna be talking to, buster.'_

"Are you a member of Starfleet?" Scotty blinked.

"Wuh… I… yes, can I get a towel, perhaps?" Addy snorted under her breath. Poor engineer was probably chilled to the bone. His hair and clothes were still soaking wet. Spock, of course, ignored the man's plea for a towel.

"Under penalty of court martial, I order you to explain to me how you were able to beam ab –"

"Don't answer him," Addy interrupted. Spock looked at her slowly. She could see the anger bubbling up there, and yes, that was the direction she needed to go.

(_No, no, stop, you're hurting him! This hurts! You're hurting us! Stop it! He needs us!_)

Spock's eyes bore down on the nervous Scotsman.

"You _will_ answer me," he commanded. Heat pooled between Addy's legs at the deep rolling tones, and she blushed in embarrassment. She'd been called easy many a time in her life, and she hadn't ever given thought to agree until now because God, did it ever _stop_!? Scotty flicked his eyes between the Vulcan and the blonde before raising his hands and taking a step away.

"I'd rather no' take sides," he admitted. Spock looked over their heads at the security officers behind.

"Escort them to the brig." But before any of them could get a grip on her, Addy stepped forward, crowding his space. He stiffened, and she knew how much of a no-no she was committing by getting in his face like this, but hey, at least he was looking at her again, and she was commanding all of his attention.

(_Yes! Yes! Closer! We need him closer! Please come back to us, we need you, we hurt!_)

"What is it about you, Spock?" she asked, her voice quiet and accusing. "Your planet was just destroyed, your mother _murdered_… and you're not even upset." Spock narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If you are presuming that these experiences in any way impede my ability to command this ship, you are mistaken." Addy barked out a harsh laugh, shaking her head at him and leveling him with a raised eyebrow and a pointed stare.

"HA! And yet _you_ were the one that first said fear is necessary for command," she said flatly. "I mean… did you _see_ that ship? Did you _see_ what he did?" Spock looked at her, and there was a beat of silence before he answered.

"Yes, of course I did," he said softly.

(_Stop it! What are you doing to him?! He is ours! He needs us! Stop this!_)

"So are you afraid or aren't you!?" she demanded loudly. The sudden increase of volume made Scotty jump, but Spock didn't even flinch. His face was as blank as ever. She growled internally in frustration. She was running out of time and out of options and she didn't want to have to stoop this low and make a jibe at his mother's memory, because that had been the most painful for him, the most personal loss. But she would.

"I will not allow you to lecture me on the merits of emotion," he said. She narrowed her eyes and took another step closer, their chests almost touching.

"Then why don't you stop me?" she taunted, her voice so soft that he was the only one that could make out her words.

"Step _away_ from me, Ms. Kirk," he said darkly. She ignored him, continuing on with her jibes and prods at his barriers like he hadn't just lost one of his layers.

"What is it like not to feel anger? Or heartbreak?" she asked in mock curiosity. "Or the need to stop at nothing to avenge the death of the woman that gave birth to you?" A muscle by his left eye twitched. His shoulders were shaking, but just barely. She could feel it, like it was a bone ready to break. The pressure points were right there. All she needed was the final straw to break the camel's back.

"Back away from me," he growled. Addy shivered as the heat in her stomach grew. Her face flushed even more.

(_STOP THIS! THIS HURTS US! IT HURTS! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? HE NEEDS US! STOP IT, PLEASE!_)

"You feel _nothing_!" she accused, shouting by this point, glaring up in his face, trying to control her warring emotions. On the one hand, she was battling a strange sense of arousal, and on the other, the bond was screaming in pain at her to stop hurting him, because it was hurting her just as much. And it _did_ hurt. The place where she knew her heart was ached and throbbed with every beat, and she had a specific, acute headache where she felt the gold lifeline centered and attached to her psyche. The conflict inside was irritating her, and she used that as momentum, giving her words a harsh edge that hadn't been there before. The bridge was deathly silent as everyone watched the drama unfold. "It must not even _compute_ for you! _You never loved her!_"

Time slowed as Adelaide could see the walls crumble. Spock's face turned into something ugly and angry as his face scrunched in pain and fury. With a great snarling cry, he reeled his fist back and punched her square in the jaw. Addy yelped from the hurt as she went flying back right into Cupcake's chest. She felt hands bunch her coat up and before she knew it, she was flying over the rail, her head catching on the corner of the Captain's chair before she crumpled to the ground with a dazed groan. She blinked blearily as she felt gentle, soft hands stroke her face and pull her to a sitting position as Bones' face swam in her vision. She looked up at him before her blue eyes rolled down to look at the Vulcan stalking towards her, his fists shaking. Bones sheltered her with his body, glaring up at the Acting Captain, even as Addy tried to push him away. She didn't want him caught in the crossfire, but his arms tightened around her protectively.

Addy braced for the flurry of punches she knew were coming as Spock stepped in front of her, but the tall Vulcan never got the chance.

"Spock," someone from the back called softly. The Acting Captain froze, and Addy peered around his legs at the Vulcan elder she'd assumed was his father. His face gave away nothing, even as his black eyes watched the back of Spock's head carefully. The black-haired man jerked back from where Addy sat on the ground, blood dripping from the wound on her face, and looked down at her, horrified by the condemning red color. Addy watched him carefully, the wiring connecting in her brain connecting again after her tumble over the rail. Spock's breathing was heavy as he took another step back. Against Bones' noise of protest, she staggered to her feet, dimly watching as red drops fell off her chin to land on the waxed floor below.

Nothing bled like a head wound.

(_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?_)

Addy looked up from the floor, her bright blue eyes connecting with troubled brown. She softened her gaze, the guilt rising up like an angry animal in her head. She had done what was necessary for the sake of Earth and her crew, but she found she could feel only compassion for the Vulcan before her, despite the wicked bruise she could already feel forming. (She wouldn't really have a right to be angry anyway, because she'd literally been asking for it.) She felt nothing but a sad sense of empathy for the broken, shadow of the Science Officer he had originally been, standing in front of the board of admirals, calling her out on her shit and her cheats. She knew it would be a long, hard road to earn his forgiveness, but she'd seen inside his mind (albeit, his greatly aged mind) and she knew that it would be worth it try and earn his trust.

Spock looked around at all the faces wide with shock, stopping on his father last of all and setting his chin in a determined line. He looked down at his bruised knuckles before straightening his spine and trying to reclaim any dignity he had left. He looked at Bones, trying to support most of Addy's weight and futilely staunch the bleeding from her hairline with his shirt sleeve.

"Doctor, I am no longer fit for duty," Spock admitted quietly. "I hereby relinquish my command on the grounds that I have been… emotionally compromised. Please note the time and date in the ship's log." And with that, he turned, and took shaky steps out the door, every pair of eyes tracking his movement. His father looked around the room calmly before slowly following after the blue shirt of his son. When the doors shut behind him, Addy slumped against her friend, letting her eyes close for a moment. Captain. She was the Captain now, and despite how she'd gotten there, there was still a small chunk of her that couldn't help but feel joy. With a wince, she felt Bones press a gauze pad to her scalp and tape it on and where the hell had those come from?

"Well I like this ship!" Scotty chirped happily, making several people jump. "It's exciting!" The tension that had been building around the bridge broke off like ice and everyone's shoulders slumped in defeat. 'Great,' they all seemed to say, 'what the hell do we do now?'

"Congratulations, kid," Bones muttered hopelessly, "now we got no Captain and no goddamn First Officer to replace him!" Addy blinked the exhaustion away heavily before standing tall and shoving her friend away.

"Yeah we do," she sniffed, walking up to the chair and sitting down. Everyone gaped at her, incredulous.

"The hell're ya doin'?" Bones asked. Sulu's eyes lit up in remembrance and he set his lips in a grim line, raising a hand and gesturing towards the blonde woman.

"Pike made her First Officer," he said softly.

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me!" Bones exclaimed. Addy rolled her eyes, hurt that her friend was so shocked to the idea and seemed so opposed to her taking over as Captain.

"Thanks for the support, Bones," she mumbled. He glared at her, but she chose to ignore it, looking over the controls on her arm rests and familiarizing herself with the chair. Lights glowed and blinked, and there was her screen and what did this button do here?

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, _Captain_," a venomous voice said above her. Addy would know that voice anywhere. Only Uhura would be able to call Addy by her station and still make it sound like an insult. Addy looked up at the dark skinned woman, refusing to be cowed by the anger on the woman's face. The only person she would answer to would be Spock, and that would only be when he was ready to listen to her apology. She was Captain now. This wasn't some stupid, rigged test. This was real life, and she wasn't going to let anyone question her leadership with so much on the line.

"Stick around, and you'll find out," she promised softly. Uhura glared down at her for a moment longer before huffing and walking off to her communications station. Addy rolled her eyes and looked for the button that would open the comlink ship wide so she could announce the change in power and their about-to-be-changed plans to pursue after Nero. There was a mechanical beep when she found the desired button and pressed it, signaling to her the link was open.

"Attention crew of the _Enterprise_, this is Adelaide Kirk. Mr. Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to Acting Captain. I know you all were expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments at battle stations and ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down, or they are. Kirk out." She mashed the button again, and the line closed. The faces around her were tense with the admission of their changed plans, and she looked at every one of them pointedly while Uhura came back up to stand next to her chair, arms crossed.

"I want answers," she snapped, "right now. Where the hell _you'd_ get trans-warp technology?" Addy glared up at her communications chief.

"Yeah, ya know, that's complicated. Need to know basis." Uhura's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Do I look simple to you!?" she demanded. Addy said nothing, allowing her silence to speak volumes. Uhura spluttered angrily while the rest of the bridge voiced their own concerns and opinions.

"I'm a PhD in astrophysics," Sulu informed her evenly, "I think I can handle it. How'd you get back?" Addy looked at Scotty intensely, warning him against letting them know about Spock Prime and another person from the future.

"You want us to trust you, but you won't tell us truth?" the curly haired teenager piped up indignantly. Addy glared at all of them and rose out of her chair, taking the step down and folding her arms over her chest. They were wasting time here.

"No, no, I… hey, I'm the Captain here, I don't _have_ to tell you guys anything! Now listen, we need to figure out how to catch up to and get to Nero's ship." Sulu sighed shrugging hopelessly.

"There's not a chance. They're gonna be in geosynchronous orbit with Earth in ten minutes. We'll never make it."

"Even if we could," Bones muttered, looking at Addy pointedly, "we can' go in guns blazin'; not with their technology. That's suicide." She pursed her lips in thought.

"Then we need to find a way to get on that ship and steal the re… the black hole device away from them," she concluded, barely stopping herself from letting her information slip about the red matter. She looked over at Scotty hopefully, the rest of the bridge following her gaze, albeit less hopeful and more curious. Everyone except for the short haired ensign. His face lit up with hope and he ran off to the back of the bridge to go and work something out on one of the free-standing glass computer screens.

"What? I only just go' here, what're you all lookin' at me for?" he asked evenly. Addy frowned, rolling all the possible scenarios around in her mind. How was she going to pull this off without getting everyone killed?

"Darlin', it can' be done," Bones told her. She hardened her face at her friend.

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios. You know this." He shook his head.

"This is one where ya don' have a choice, Addy." She sniffed at him, affronted, and switched over to Sulu, her eyes demanding a solution. He raised his hands passively.

"Hey, I'm with Southern Bell here. The math just doesn't support what you're suggesting." Addy huffed, frustrated. She wanted to rip her hair out, she was so on edge. Her end of the bond was crackling like wild fire, and the song was erratic. She had the feeling it was dying somehow, and even though that broke her heart, she didn't have the time or means to deal with it. Then there was the part she'd had to play being a horrible douche wad to Spock, in front of all these people she was asking help from no less. Not exactly the first impression she wanted to make on her crew when she became Captain of a ship.

"Yamayo!" she heard a happy voice shout. She looked to the source and found Chekov running towards them, a big grin on his face. "Keptin Kirk! Keptin Kirk!"

"Yes, Mr. Chekov, what is it?" He bounced up next to her, his curls springing with energy. She watched him, amused, as he proposed his idea.

"Based on the _Narada's_ course from Wulcan, I project that Nero will trawel past Saturn. If we could drop out of warp behind one of Saturn's moons, say… Titan, the distortion from magnetic rings will make us inwisible to Nero's sensors. We could follow him to Earth by staying in blind spot." Addy furrowed her brow.

"Blind spot? What blind spot?" she asked.

"Their exhaust wake. If we adjust shield frequencies, they should not detect us." Addy hardly dared to let herself breathe as her face broke out in a wide, hopeful smile. This very well may have been the very idea she was looking for. It sure sounded like the _only_ idea they had, honestly.

"Now wait jusaminnit," Bones said, giving Chekov a critical once-over. "Does anyone understand what'cher sayin'? How old are ya?"

"Sewenteen, sir!" he answered happily. Addy smiled to herself. This kid was just adorable. And seventeen. Not bad. Maybe he could actually pose a challenge to her in a game of chess. "How old are _you_?"

Addy snorted at the snide question while Bones spluttered.

"We're all old enough ta shave, here," he said grumpily, looking away with a scowl. Translation: _Telling someone so young my age makes me feel like an old biddy, so shut your trap._

"Doctor, Mr. Chekov is correct, I can confirm his telemetry," Addy, along with many others, jumped at the deep bass behind them as Spock walked back on to the bridge. She blinked in surprise, looking at him critically. He looked much more composed than when he'd left. Still a bit shaken, if she looked at the lines around his mouth, but not as brittle when she'd first gotten here. It looked like that pain was a part of him now that he'd examined it, analyzed it, and accepted its worth as a part of him growing, instead of trying to deny the grieving necessary to moving on. Still, she'd just broken the man, so she was a little leery of letting him back in the know without a psych eval (wasn't that standard procedure, anyway?) at the very least and an hour long apology with many tears and much groveling. She could tell Spock could see her hesitation, because he walked over to their little circle and clasped his hands plainly behind his back. She noticed, with an involuntary and overwhelming sense of relief at the sight of him, that the golden warmth in her mind was still alive. It flared at the sight of him, and she got the distinct feeling it was happy if it were at all possible, but it dimmed when she prodded at it, and pulled away from her like an angry cat. Seemed like her own mind was angry at her.

"If Mr. Sulu is able to maneuver us into position, I can beam aboard and deactivate the black hole device, and, if possible, bring back Captain Pike." Addy searched his brown eyes for a moment before shaking her head solemnly. How could she send him over to the very people that had just committed genocide on his people, especially when she'd broken him over that fact not twenty minutes ago?

"I can't allow you to do that, Spock," she said gravely. He pursed his lips at her, looking down at his shoes before taking a deep, steady breath, and meeting her eyes with a determined and strong gaze. Something in his had changed, she realized. Some switch had been flipped, and she could still see the grief, but it wasn't crushing him. And he wasn't afraid anymore. She blinked in surprise, and let out a giant breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, relieved she hadn't permanently ruined the man.

"Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry," he argued simply. "Our cultural similarities will make it easier for me to access the ship's computer and locate the black hole device." She nodded, this made sense. It was logical. Of course it was. Spock was Vulcan, after all.

"Also…" he added softly, locking his gaze squarely with Addy, "my mother was human. Which makes Earth the only home I have left." Guilt welled up inside, and she dropped her eyes and worried at her earlobe. Whether intentional or not, Spock was going for the same tactic she'd done and using his mother against her. Now she would feel emotionally responsible if she denied Spock this chance. Still… was it wise?

Her mind wandered back to Delta Vega, wishing more than anything that the older Spock were here to guide her with his calm, assuring presence. She missed him dearly already, and she'd hardly been away from him. Shaking her head, Addy looked back up at the half Vulcan before her. Older Spock had been adamant about her working _with_ the Spock of her time to overcome Nero, knowing full well what she was going to do by emotionally compromising him. She had to trust that Spock knew himself well enough to know that they wouldn't fail if they worked together, right?

She stepped toward him, looking up into his face, searching for any sign that he was off, that he wasn't up to the job. He met her gaze openly and evenly, and though she could see he was himself again, she saw a suspicious resentment for her that saddened her deeply. She hid her disappointment (much as she'd been expecting it, it still hurt), behind a cocky grin and nodded sharply.

"Alright, you win, Spock, but I'm coming with you." He nodded, as if he'd been expecting this response.

"I would cite Regulation, but I know _you_ would simply ignore it," he muttered. Her grin was real, and cheeky, this time, as she chuckled and nodded approvingly.

"See?" she teased, "We're getting to know each other after all." With a friendly punch to his shoulder, she walked past him to go and examine Chekov's findings still on the glass screen. She could feel the Vulcan's eyes burning holes in her back, but she didn't turn around, until someone grabbed her arm and forcibly stopped her. Bones was none too happy with her, judging by the deep scowl on his face.

"The hell do ya mean yer goin' with him?" he murmured under his breath. Addy gently extricated herself from his grasp and leveled him with a look.

"Well obviously, he can't go by himself, Bones."

"So send someone else! He marooned you, fer Chrissake! And now ya wanna go on over to a super-powered ship from the future with _him_ to cover ya?" Addy looked at him evenly, really looked at him. She saw past the anger and saw his concern for her well-being, saw the protective instincts he had as her friend, the compassion he had for her and the anger at Spock for what he'd done. She saw it all, understood it, accepted it, and moved past it. She gave him a stern look and sighed, reaching out and gripping his arm tightly.

"Bones, you have to trust me," she whispered, "you have to trust that I know what I'm doing and that I'm not going to choose the course of action most likely to get me killed in a horrible, violent death." Her southern friend glared harder at her in silence before shaking his head.

"Ya owe me a stiff drink, and a god damn explanation when this is over." Addy grinned and raised her hand in a mock salute.

"Yessir." He rolled his eyes and stomped off after Spock, most likely to threaten him some medical disease if he didn't watch out for their new Acting Captain. She rolled her eyes affectionately and turned back to the glass plate to examine the diagrams that would hopefully save all their lives, pushing down the growing sense of dread and apprehension. It sounded perfect. Too perfect. And when things sounded too perfect in Adelaide Kirk's life, that usually meant some terrible disaster.

She hoped this time was different.

* * *

**Any theories on what happened with the bond? I'd love to hear them! Just let me know in an awesome review!**

**Peace.**


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